A woman approached her pastor with a question: "Where is the lost and found department in our church? I've lost my glasses and I just can't see well."

The pastor replied, "We don't actually have a lost and found department. You might check the secretary's desk. Maybe you'll find your glasses there." After the woman left, the pastor rethought his answer. "Actually, the whole church is a lost and found department. The business of the church is to find the lost."

The incident that gave rise to Jesus' parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin (Luke 15:1-10) was the attitude of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They grumbled when they saw tax collectors and sinners being welcomed by Jesus.

Jesus didn't approve of the behavior of tax collectors and sinners, but he demonstrated God…