Relentless Love
Sermon September 14, 2025 Luke 15:1-10
Relentless Love
Reverend Fred Okello
Each time I make a trip back home to Kenya, I know something will be waiting that needs to be fixed. That’s one of the reasons I go home—to put things in order. On my last trip, we were doing many things at once, but one particular issue robbed me of peace.
I had to fix one of my car’s spare keys that wasn’t working. After finally solving the problem, I was glad to have both keys working perfectly. But then came the shock—I lost both keys, and suddenly we were stuck!
A lot was happening. First, we were improving our house, and somewhere in the process the spare key got misplaced. Second, we had just planted trees, and on the way back it rained heavily. We got trapped in the mud until ten o’clock at night. Exhausted, wet, and frustrated, we finally made it home—only to realize that the main key was also missing.
That very night, Stanley and I walked back to the spot where we got stuck, hoping to find the key before morning, fearing someone else might pick it up. We searched the mud in the darkness and found nothing. We returned home, tired and defeated, and went to bed around three in the morning with no peace in our hearts.
But when the morning came, we opened one of the containers we had removed from the car the night before—and there it was! The key! A deep sigh of relief swept over us. We rejoiced, yet the search for the missing spare key continued, and with it the prayer that we never lose the one we had just recovered.
Friends, when I think about that restless night searching for a lost key, I am reminded of the heart of God in Luke 15.
The context of Luke 15 is very significant. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were grumbling: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” They didn’t understand why Jesus would spend time with people who were considered unworthy.
Jesus responds with two simple stories. The first is about a sheep that gets lost. Sheep don’t plan to wander away—they drift. One patch of grass here, another nibble there, and soon they are far from the flock. People get lost in the same way. Nobody wakes up and says, “Today I’m going to ruin my life.” It happens gradually—small decisions, little compromises, habits that grow into strongholds.
The second story is about a lost coin. A coin doesn’t wander away; it is misplaced. It still has value, but its value is hidden until it is found. This reminds us of people who are overlooked, forgotten, or pushed aside by society. They may not even know they are lost, but God does.
Being spiritually lost disrupts our peace, our relationships, and our purpose. But here is the good news: lost does not mean worthless.
What strikes me in these parables is that the initiative lies with the seeker.
The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep and goes after the one until he finds it.
The woman lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds the coin.
God is not passive. He does not say, “If they want to come back, they know where to find me.” No—He actively seeks, He relentlessly pursues. He is the Shepherd who goes into the wilderness, the Woman who turns the house upside down, the Savior who leaves heaven to come to earth.
Both parables end with joy, not frustration. The shepherd calls his friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” The woman does the same when she finds the coin.
Jesus then makes the application clear: “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Church, let this challenge us. Sometimes we celebrate attendance numbers, new programs, or successful events, but do we celebrate when even one life is touched by the gospel? If heaven throws a party over one soul, so should we.
It’s possible to be in church, to hear the Word, to sing the songs—and still miss the heart of God. If we are more concerned with rules than with people, if we grumble instead of rejoice, then we are closer to the Pharisees than to the Shepherd.
The church must not become a private club for the righteous but a hospital for the broken. Every person who walks through these doors is someone Jesus died for. Every lost soul is precious in His sight.
These parables invite us to have relentless love to seek.
Like the shepherd, we are called to leave our comfort zones and seek the one who is lost.
Like the woman, we are called to light lamps and sweep diligently until the hidden are found.
This means praying for the lost, welcoming them, visiting them, and sharing Christ with them. It may mean getting our hands dirty—walking into the mud, staying up late, going the extra mile. But isn’t that exactly what Jesus did for us?
The truth is, once we were the lost sheep, once we were the lost coin. Someone prayed for us, someone reached out, someone shared the gospel. Now it is our turn.