The Lord definitely has a sense of humour. Calling me into Baptist Ministry has meant that study never finishes, and I thought when I walked out of school at 16 that was going to be the end.

Does God ever act irresponsibly? – well it sounds like it, here in Luke 15. The parable of Jesus about a shepherd who has a 100 sheep loses one and leaves 99 to find the one.

Now to be concerned about the one is natural, but to leave 99 and possibly lose the lot sounds irresponsible. The likelihood of the shepherd keeping his job is highly unlikely.

So what’s the point…………………….? Is it that Jesus will go to any length to rescue the one. He will do things, which involve risk; he will not give up until the one is safe, back with the shepherd.

Jesus illustrates this by his visit to Zacchaeus, Luke 19. A tax collector, a collaborator, a rip off merchant. Yet when Zacchaeus has his life turned around by Jesus, Jesus explains "The Son of Man came to look for and save people who are lost" Luke 19.10.

At our Elders Retreat one of the things that we felt was needed was a greater passion for those who are lost. A greater concern for them, and a greater energy in reaching out to them with the good news of Jesus.

It obviously is easier when people know they are lost. Zacchaeus was trying to see Jesus and to hear from him.

In March this year Jack Dee the famous comedian was being interviewed in The Times. He acknowledged I " am not someone who’s found the way and is trying to shine a light. I don’t know what we can do next. I’m lost. I’m not a comedian with answers, I’m a comedian with questions". (BT March 21 2002).

I can tell you that in the light of Jesus’ promise – he who seeks finds.

Yet what of the Pharisees the righteous, those who feel their lives are together, it is far harder for them to be recipients of God’s grace because they are convinced of their own sufficiency/goodness.

The mission of Jesus was a high risk strategy, what if Jesus like the first man Adam gave in to temptation just once in his effort to save humanity all would be lost. Yet he left the security of heaven and endured the humiliation of the cross in order to save us lost human beings who like the lost sheep required rescuing whether it realised its plight or not.

Heaven celebrates conversions –Luke 15.7. For us at USBC we need to pray for them, we need to do what we can to facilitate lost people being found by the love of God. We need to recognise this is something God wants to do and we must work with him to see this happen. We need to recognise that each conversion, every person of whatever age who discovers Jesus as their Lord and Saviour is a miracle.

This parable is so well known that you can miss the obvious.

1. The younger son is a spoilt brat. He knows his Father is loaded and he wants to have a ball now, to enjoy life while he is young. That the Father lets him go is understandable. This Father is obviously loving and knows that this meant letting his son go.
2. This is where it gets downright silly. The son is given his inheritance. The Father didn’t say wait your time, it will come to you. No, the Father gave him his money. That is unreasonable.
3. The son comes to his senses and goes back home. He has learnt his lesson. But he’s blown the lot. The Father what does he do – he only runs out to meet him, he then throws a party. Can’t you sympathise with the older brother. Go on Dad give him a hard time, let him be treated like the servants. Teach him a lesson. In other words make him pay for his foolishness.

But no the Father throws a party, he embraces his Son, he celebrates, he restores his son to his place. It isn’t reasonable, it far exceeds that. From the older brother’s perspective it isn’t fair, it isn’t. He did not deserve such a welcome.

Yet Jesus is saying Grace is not what you deserve, we deserve hell, separation from the Father because we along with all humanity have gone our own way. We have been less than perfect. Yet God sends Jesus to open up the family home. Grace is possible because God himself in the person of Jesus takes the punishment that should have been ours.

As Philip Yancey says

There is nothing we can do to make God love us more,
There is nothing more we can do to make God love us less.

So grace seems irresponsible, it is unreasonable it is…..

Grace means that whether we are the best human being who has ever walked this earth apart from Adam and Jesus or whether we are the worst, the offer of God’s grace, God’s undeserved love is there for us.

Just as parents find that they have a love for their baby even though they don’t really know it – so as God’s creation, we too are loved by God. But I cannot turn to my parents prior to conception and say I deserve a life, I deserve your love. Life is not earned it is a gift. So too spiritually life is not earned it’s a gift.

Such grace is awesome – it is awesome in terms of what it can do in our lives. It is awesome in terms of what it can do in the lives of others.

Human illustration’s from Yancey will help us.

Walter Wink tells of a black woman in South Africa who was walking along the street with her children when a white man spat in her face. She stopped and said "Thank you, and now for the children". Nonplussed the man was unable to respond. p136

We can think of the huge changes which have taken place within the 20C.

A Catholic priest Jerry Popeiluszko had taught his people to defend the truth and to overcome evil, with good. So when his body was found floating in the Vistula River with his eyes gouged out and his fingernails torn off; the crowds thronged the streets marching with banners which said " We forgive, We forgive". It was peaceful protest that caused the regime to collapse.