At a business networking meeting, a member shared a snippet about the art of storytelling, for business owners to be able to effectively communicate who their company is, their mission, and how they came into existence.  

Stories help us visualize, connect, and understand. I’ve always had an appreciation for storytelling, growing up listening to my grandpa’s stories. His name was Gary, we called him “Pappaw,” common to the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia where he was raised. He was an extraordinary storyteller, weaving the story’s details and characters together, he captivated everyone’s attention. He told his tales with animation; hands waving, facial expressions, and a big smile on his face as he worked his way to the ending, which most often ended with an eruption of laughter.  

Jesus used stories to teach, like the parables. One of my favorites, “The Parable of the Lost Sheep,”  Luke 15:1-7 reads: 

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people — even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” (NLT)

Directly following, is “The Parable of the Lost Coin” Luke 15:8-10: 

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” (NLT)

Notice how diligently the woman searched for the lost coin? Determined to find it, sweeping the whole house. These parables illustrate the heart of God for the lost. I’m so thankful that He never gave up searching for me as I wandered! My cousin, Dawn, suggested that perhaps we are to seek God with the same diligence. 

Jesus continued to further illustrate his point in the “Parable of the Lost Son” Luke 15:11-32, a story of a father and two sons. The younger son requested his inheritance early, leaving home to squander it away, later finding himself starving and destitute. When he came to his senses, he humbly returned home with a repentant heart, to request to work as his father’s servant. But the father welcomed him back as a son. 

My favorite part of the story is in Luke 15:20… “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” 

A commentary suggested that the father may have seen the son coming “from a long way off” because he was looking for him to return. But the older brother became angry at the younger son’s warm reception, pointing out his wrongdoings, but (Luke 15:31-32 NLT) “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” 

Such a beautiful story of love, salvation, and restoration. I pray this blesses you, reminding you that God loves you. Let us run to Jesus as we would to the open arms of a welcoming Father. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”