In Luke 15 Jesus tells us a parable about the these lost people, and how God looks out for each of them. The first part of the parable is about the lost sheep who is a happy member of the flock, then goes off for the grass just over there and suddenly realizes he isn't with the flock any more. The sheep bleats and cries out, hoping for a response from the flock to guide him back, but to no avail. However, the shepherd realizes he is a sheep short and goes out in search of that sheep until he finds it, and then the shepherd brings the sheep safely back to the fold.
The next piece of the story is about a lost coin, and not just any coin, but a dowry coin. It rolled off away from the rest of the coins, but being a coin it has no idea it's lost at all. When the woman comes home and counts up the coins, she sees one is missing and turns on every light and sweeps under every piece of furniture until she finds it, and then she and her friends rejoice because all of the coins have been reunited.
The final (and probably most famous) part of the story deals with a rich man and his two sons. The youngest gets filled with wanderlust and in an extreme insult to his father, asks for his inheritance so he can go do what he wants. The father, lovingly, grants his request and the young man wanders off to live the high life. And live it up he does! Penthouse parties that go non-stop with more friends than he can count....until the money runs out that is. Then the young man realizes he is all alone, too, but is to ashamed to go back home. So he gets a job as a pig farmer, and is so hungry he shares the pig slop with the pigs. He finally swallows his pride and works out a speech where he will work as a servant for his father, but as he gets near home he finds his father waiting for him. The father is so excited that his lost son has returned that he throws a great party!
The older son is upset, though, to the point where he avoids the party altogether. When the father inquires why, he says it's because he did what he was supposed to do all these years, and yet the runaway brat gets the huge party. The father doesn't reprimand him, though. He tells his son that everything he has is this son's, and at no point does he ever condone the younger son's actions. He is merely happy that his lost son returned, and wants everyone to share in the joy.
Jesus is pointing out a couple of things. Obviously when someone who is lost from him, either by accident, without even knowing, or willfully, and that person returns, God is thrilled. When someone is lost by accident or doesn't even know they are lost, God actively seeks after that person, and when someone willfully turns their back on Him, even though it hurts, God lets them go and doesn't chase them....but He waits every day for them to come back. How great is it when we, as a church, can put on a program that turns out to be a catalyst for bringing a lost person back to God?
But that's not the only part of the story. It is about more than just the three lost things. There are ninety-nine other sheep who stayed in the fold, nine other coins who stayed in their place on top of the dresser, and there is another son who did what he was supposed to do all along. These are the things that the church doesn't like to talk about.
Jesus does. Jesus cares as much about the ninety-nine sheep, the nine coins, and the older brother as he does about those that were lost. He even goes out of the way to address those who have remained faithful in His story, reassuring them that they are blessed with everything God has to offer because they were faithful. Yet you don't hear about that promise very much, because the focus is on the lost, at all costs.
While I appreciate all the effort being put into reaching those who may be lost, I see this other alarming trend emerging. So much time, focus, and effort is given to being the next "thing" to make ourselves attractive to outsiders that those who have already found their way in the door are neglected....even run out of the church. If the ninety-nine sheep can't see the importance of being "hip" or "cool" so we can get the one lost sheep back, then those sheep should just go some place else, there's no place in the fold for them. It's as if the father is telling the older son that if he doesn't like the party, he can just leave. There is nothing more demoralizing and destructive to person than being shut out because they care about those who aren't lost as much as those who are. For most, they would leave and NEVER come back, so we create ninety-nine lost trying to save one. But hey, we got one, and that's what REALLY matters!
Not to Jesus, we ALL matter to Jesus. We matter so much that just before He died (for us!) He prayed for us!
"My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost..." - John 17:9-12
Jesus does not want even one of us to be lost! How awesome is our God!
Encounter: Will you focus on the one and be willing to sacrifice the ninety-nine, or will you work to create that loving community of believers that will be there with open arms to welcome everyone into the fold?
2 comments:
I may be misunderstanding, so please forgive me if I am. However, whether in the category of the ninety-nine or the one, we are all just as lost and just as in need of a Savior. Movements calling us back to an understanding of Jesus as Everything and All have nothing to do with being "hip" or "cool." Christians who live life with this understanding don't consider any group of people more important than the other. LIfe's purpose becomes exposing a Savior who loves unconditionally and without pre-condition. If we are THAT kind of Christ-follower, ALL people will see the awesomeness of our God.
I agree! That is the kind of follower we should be! Unfortunately it often seems that the church is willing to sacrifice those "in the fold" to get some new conversions or bump up the baptism stats. It wasn't either/or for Jesus, new believers were as important as the "old guard" and there was no need to sacrifice one group for the other. As His professed followers, I don't think we should get in the "must convert EVERYONE" mindset to the degree we neglect the "converted" which I think we've all seen happen before.
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