Luke 15:7, 10 (ESV)
[7] Just so, I tell you, there
will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine
righteous persons who need no repentance.
[10] Just so, I tell you, there
is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Jesus told three stories, the
story of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son which we call the
Prodigal Son. It is interesting to me that in a conversation recently it was
assumed that the story of the lost sheep was assumed to refer to chasing down
offended church members and wooing them back to church. From a literal
perspective I see where that conclusion could be made. The sheep was part of
the flock. It wandered off. The shepherd went to find it. People leave our
church. We should track them down. But that’s not really the point of the
parable.
People are offended for all kinds
of reasons, and they leave churches for all kinds of reasons. It is reasonable
to connect with them and see what the problem is, but not all offenses are
real. An offence over the length of the sermon, or by the number of songs that
were sung, or by a look they perceived was given to them is not a real offense.
If something was done wrong then apologies are to be given. If there was a
genuine offense, it needs to be addressed. But way too often we spend time and
energy trying to woo back people who are only going to be offended by something
else and leave again.
Jesus’ parables were not about
wooing back or chasing down errant church members. They were about sinners
coming to repentance. And that brings me back to my previous blog. Keeping the
flock fed is important but so is seeking the lost sheep. It would do us well to
regularly evaluate what we are doing as a church and as individuals. Have we
lost our passion for the lost? Are we even praying for the lost? Have we become
so inward focused that we have lost our passion to look outward?
These parables were told to expose
the hypocrisy of those who thought themselves holy while having no compassion
on those they considered unacceptable. I have been praying for my neighbors to
come to faith in Christ. Recently God has convicted me to pray not only for the
neighbors I like, but for the crazy neighbor that I hear shouting and cursing
almost daily. Is not that neighbor as precious to God as the ones I like to
talk to? Is that neighbor not as precious to God as the church members I love fellowshipping
with? Isn’t that really the point of Jesus’ parables?
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