When Heaven Throws a Party

While taking a walk around the pleasant, leafy streets near my home, I noticed a poster attached to a tree. It carried the photograph of a small bird—a pretty little cockatiel. It reported that someone’s cherished pet was lost.

The wording on the poster indicated that Juzi had been hand raised and would not manage very well if she remained at large on her own.

A reward was offered for her safe return.

I am sure any pet lover can relate to the owners’ distress.

As I continued my walk, on the lookout for any glimpse of a cockatiel, I passed several more copies of the poster along different streets. Juzi’s owners had obviously gone to considerable effort to search for their lost bird and to alert all the neighbors that she was missing.

Unfortunately, I never learned whether or not little Juzi was found and returned to her home. However, I do know there were happy endings for several well-known lost-and-found stories in Scripture. In chapter 15 of his Gospel, Luke records Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. When rereading Luke 15 recently, I particularly noticed the context. Jesus told these parables to an audience of tax collectors and sinners while a group of Pharisees and teachers of the law muttered disapproval of the company He chose to keep.

I also was impressed afresh by the fact that each story ends in a celebration.

The shepherd who finds his lost sheep, the woman who finds her missing coin, and the father who welcomes his prodigal son home—all were overjoyed that what had been lost had now been found. They all called on their friends and neighbors to celebrate with them. Of course, in human terms, that response is not surprising.

What is amazing is the information that Jesus includes: “Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue” (Luke 15:7, The Message). And not just joy in heaven, but celebration too! He adds, “that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God” (Luke 15:10, The Message).

What good news! Heaven is ready and waiting to throw a party for you, for me, for anyone willing to be found—for everyone who decides to go home to the Father.

Jennifer M. Baldwin