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THE KING’S BUSINESS
until the coin was found. Like the shep herd, the woman calls her friends and neighbors together to rejoice with her. Does the Church rejoice over the lost one found as Christ and the Holy Spirit do? The application o f this parable is very much the same as the former, “ there is joy in the presence of the angels o f God.” There is joy on the part o f the angels, but that is not what these words say, but “in the presence of the angels, i. e., on God’s own part. Sunday, January 16 . Luke 15 : 1 1 - 13 . This parable might be termed the Drama o f Life in Three Acts. Act I. The Nature o f Sin, or Wandering (vs. 11-13). Act II. The Fruits o f Sin, or Desolation (vs. 13- 16). Act III. The Remedy for Sin, or the Wanderer’s Return to the Father (vs. 17-24). The Father o f this parable repre sents God the Father. O f course the figure is not a perfect representation o f Him who is represented; for all earthly figures o f the divine Father must fall short. But it is a wonderful picture of God’s attitude toward the sinner, especially the backslider. The younger son represents the wanderer from God; the elder son the one who has not outwardly wandered and yet is not really right toward God. The immediate refer ence in the elder brother is to the Pharisees and Scribes (v. 2; cf. vs. 28-30). There is great brusqueness and heartlessness in the younger son’s request. It cut the father to the heart, and our desire to get rid o f the restraint o£ God’s presence and guidance and to lead an independent life, deeply wounds the loving heart o f God. At the bottom o f the boy’s request was the desire to have his own way, to be independent. This is the very essence o f sin, the desire to have our own way, to be independent o f our Father—God. Our way may be a refined and moral way, or it may be a. gross and vicious way, but the desire to have our own way (instead o f God’s way) is the very heart o f sin. Heart alienation from God lies back o f the desire to be independent o f God. The father granted the son’s ungra cious demand. I f we desire to be independ-
lost sheep way “home.” He does not lay it down until he gets it way there. Christ never lays down the sinner ; He brings him safe home, and way home. Having reached home “ fie called together his friends and neighbors.” Christ reaching heaven calls thé angels together to rejoice with Him over the sinner saved. There.is wonder fully tender suggestiveness in the two words “ with me.” The angels did rejoice: it was in the heart o f the Pharisees alone that there was no joy (vs. 2, 28). Christ has not left us to guess the meaning o f His parable (v. 7). There are really no just persons “which need no repentance,” but there are some who consider themselves so (Rom. 3:22, 23; Isa. 23:6; Prov. 30:12;. vs. 1, 2, 25-32), and Jesus is taking them at their own estimate. There was a very tender and searching irony in these words o f Jesus. God takes more delight in a man away down in sin, who realizes his condi tion and repents than the moral and respec table sinner who in his own eyes- needs no repentance. Saturday, January 15 . Luke 15 : 8 - 10 . The woman in this parable is God and Holy Spirit, or we may take the figure as representing the Church, through which the Spirit seeks and saves (Rev. 22:17; Eph. 5:25). The woman o f that land had ten coins in her marriage necklace, and one coin lost made the necklace incomplete. The Spirit will not rest while there is one coin missing from the necklace, and the Church ought not to. Every coin had the image o f the emperor upon it, and every one who belongs to Christ has His image stamped upon him. The woman takes her lamp, i. e., the word o f God (Ps. 119:105; Phil. 2:15, 16) and sweeps the house. Sweeping is likely to stir up a dust and people not in sympathy with the woman’s search would be annoyed. Sa the world feels annoyed when the Church wakes up to the fact that men are lost, and stirs up a dust in her eager search for them (cf. Acts 17:6). The woman sought “ diligently.” So it is the Holy Spirit seeks. Would it were so with the Church. The woman kept up the search
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