|
FINDING THE LOST
Luke 15:1-10
Looking for the lost is not an easy work. It takes a spirit led person whose determination, resilience and nonjudgmental mind as the driving force. We are happy to look for the lost. We are happy that Jesus is willing to venture out to find those who have strayed and to bring them home for a celebration. This is a warm and welcoming passage that gives humanity hope of eternal life.
Experiments in local churches with a focus not on those who are already in the fellowship but those who are yet to be part are often met with dismay by the members. It is not unreasonable, most would think, to care for those who are members, those who pay tithes and offering every week, and those who are faithful to the programs of the church. Until Luke chapter 15 rolls around, and we discover just how unreasonable Jesus really is. It is one thing to be “seeker-sensitive,” which means being hospitable to those who find their way into our fellowship for worship or learning or support. But this isn’t about waiting by the door for those who come in; this is about going out, finding those who might not consider coming to a church, and making sure they know how welcome they are, how loved they are. This is about turning the church upside down or inside out in order to shift the focus from tending the flock to seeking the lost. This is a hard saying, indeed.
Luke 15, “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” We celebrate our place in the fellowship of the church. We live the party that is the kingdom of heaven right now. We claim the family that the kingdom of God has given to us. We rejoice in the gift of the church that we enjoy as a part of our identity. Let’s ask God to open our eyes to the possibilities all around us, to the people we have overlooked, to the populations on the margins. Sometimes our prayers cover only ourselves, our own needs, or our own forgiveness. Or are we lifting up our community and the opportunities for mission and ministry, evangelism, and comfort that we could provide?
Do our songs celebrate the joys of the church and the gifts we have received? Or do we look out to the mission field, to the ravines where the sheep have wandered, or to the corners where the coin has rolled? Do we sing praise to the one who calls us to go out, to seek and to find and then to celebrate? Worship is not only about receiving matching orders or getting our weekly assignments. But it can be a reminder that we are a people with a mission and that we cannot be content with the status quo.
|
