God pursues us in our restlessness, receives us in our sinfulness, holds us in our brokenness.  Scotty Smith

迷失的，祂会寻找；犯罪的，祂仍接纳；破碎的，祂会保守。

This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Luke 15:2

这个人接待罪人，又同他们吃饭。-路加福音15章2节

I have a friend—her name is Edith—who told me about the day she decided to follow Jesus. 

我有一位朋友名叫佑彤，她曾经跟我谈到，她决志信主的经过。

Edith cared nothing for religion. But one Sunday morning she walked into a church near her apartment looking for something to satisfy her discontented soul. The text that day was Luke 15:1–2, which the pastor read from the King James Version: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” 

其实，佑彤一直对宗教不感兴趣。但在一个星期日的早上，她走进了她家附近的一间教会，希望她空虚的心灵能够得着满足。当天牧师选读的经文是路加福音15章1-2节﹕“众税吏和罪人都挨近耶稣，要听祂讲道。法利赛人和文士私下议论说：‘这个人接待罪人，又同他们吃饭。’”

That’s what it said, but this is what Edith heard: “This man receives sinners and Edith with them.” She sat straight up in her pew! Eventually she realized her mistake, but the thought that Jesus welcomed sinners—and that included Edith—stayed with her. That afternoon she decided to “draw near” to Jesus and listen to Him. She began to read the Gospels, and soon she decided to put her faith in Him and follow Him. 

当时，佑彤听到牧师说﹕“这个人接待罪人，又同（佑彤）他们吃饭。”她立即在座位上端正坐好！过后，她知道自己误解了牧师的意思，但那句话却在她的脑海盘旋，就是耶稣接待罪人，这罪人也包括了佑彤。当日下午，她决定“亲近”耶稣，聆听祂的话语。于是，她开始阅读福音书，并且很快就决志信主、跟随主。

The religious folks of Jesus’s day were scandalized by the fact that He ate and drank with sinful, awful people. Their rules prohibited them from associating with such folk. Jesus paid no attention to their made-up rules. He welcomed the down-and-out and gathered them to Him, no matter how far gone they were.

耶稣与恶贯满盈的罪人一同吃饭，震惊了当时的宗教人士，因为他们的律例乃是禁止与这些人互动。耶稣没有理会他们添加的规条，也不计算人有多少罪恶，祂接纳穷困潦倒的人，招聚他们到祂这里来。

It’s still true, you know: Jesus receives sinners and you and me too.

直到如今，耶稣仍然接纳罪人，也接纳你和我。

Heavenly Father, we can’t thank You enough for the radical love of Your Son, who drew all of us outcasts and moral failures to Him, and made the way for us to come to You in joy and boldness.

天父，我们感谢祢，藉着耶稣伟大的爱，接纳我们这些遭人离弃、在道德上失败的人，使我们能坦然无惧、满心喜乐地来亲近祢。

Luke 15:1-7   NIV

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

路加福音 15:1-7 

15 众税吏和罪人都挨近耶稣，要听他讲道。 2 法利赛人和文士私下议论说：“这个人接待罪人，又同他们吃饭。” 3 耶稣就用比喻说： 4 “你们中间谁有一百只羊失去一只，不把这九十九只撇在旷野，去找那失去的羊，直到找着呢？ 5 找着了，就欢欢喜喜地扛在肩上，回到家里， 6 就请朋友邻舍来，对他们说：‘我失去的羊已经找着了，你们和我一同欢喜吧！’ 7 我告诉你们：一个罪人悔改，在天上也要这样为他欢喜，较比为九十九个不用悔改的义人欢喜更大。”

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1–7) is the first in a series of parables about lost things. It’s followed by the parable of the lost coin (vv. 8–10) and the parable of the lost son, better known as the prodigal son (vv. 11–32).

路加福音提到好几个失去的比喻，第一个是丢失羊的比喻（15章1-7节），紧接着是丢失钱的比喻（8-10节）和失去儿子的比喻，后者常被称为浪子的比喻（11-32节）。

Although each of the parables is about something lost, there’s also something in each that isn’t lost—the sheep safe in the pen, the remaining coins, and the elder son at home. Yet the shepherd, the woman, and the father are not content with what they have; their concern is for that which is lost.

虽然每个比喻都是讲述失去人或物，但却也都包含未曾失去的部分，例如：仍留在羊圈里的羊、剩下的钱币和在家的长子。不过，比喻中的牧人、妇人和父亲并不会因有所存留就感到满足，他们担心的乃是那些迷失或丢失的。

Is someone in your life lost and waiting to be found by the Savior? Whom can you trust to God’s loving and searching ways?

在你的周遭是否也有迷失的人，正等着被救主寻见呢？你希望谁能被上帝的慈爱寻回呢？

整理：于姊妹