Inward Focus or Outward Focus
I love the parables of Jesus. They make the truths of the Kingdom of God come alive for us, as we consider the word pictures and life situations they depict. The parable of the one lost sheep is especially powerful to me, and I believe every church family needs to hear it often.(Matthew 18:12,13) It is easy to turn our focus onto our Christian friends and forget about those who are out in the cold, lost and without hope. We must do whatever it takes to keep that from happening to us and to our churches.
There are several significant parts to this parable. Let's think about some of them. There were a large number of sheep that were safe, and there was only one that went astray. The shepherd could have written off the one by convincing himself that he still had plenty of sheep. That was not the heart of the shepherd, and it must not be our heart. The one sheep went "astray." The shepherd could have been upset with this sheep, and he could have said that he deserved to be lost, because he chose to go on his own. Again, the shepherd did not think that way either. The shepherd had compassion on the sheep that was straying. The shepherd went to the mountains to seek the sheep. The implication is that it was not an easy search, but he did it anyway. He was not sure to find him, but it was worth his effort. The least he could do was to make a thorough search for the helpless sheep. Finally, when he did find him, he rejoiced "more" over the one sheep that he found, than over the 99 which did not go astray. He knew the others were safe, but the one could have died out there and been lost forever. That made his rejoicing rich, indeed.
Where is our focus? How much are we seeking the ones who are going astray? Do we have the loving heart of the shepherd that is motivation to do the hard work of finding the lost sheep? If we are going to be like Jesus, we will have an outward focus, and we will lovingly keep seeking those lost sheep one at a time, instead of focusing on the 99.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 20-23.
There are several significant parts to this parable. Let's think about some of them. There were a large number of sheep that were safe, and there was only one that went astray. The shepherd could have written off the one by convincing himself that he still had plenty of sheep. That was not the heart of the shepherd, and it must not be our heart. The one sheep went "astray." The shepherd could have been upset with this sheep, and he could have said that he deserved to be lost, because he chose to go on his own. Again, the shepherd did not think that way either. The shepherd had compassion on the sheep that was straying. The shepherd went to the mountains to seek the sheep. The implication is that it was not an easy search, but he did it anyway. He was not sure to find him, but it was worth his effort. The least he could do was to make a thorough search for the helpless sheep. Finally, when he did find him, he rejoiced "more" over the one sheep that he found, than over the 99 which did not go astray. He knew the others were safe, but the one could have died out there and been lost forever. That made his rejoicing rich, indeed.
Where is our focus? How much are we seeking the ones who are going astray? Do we have the loving heart of the shepherd that is motivation to do the hard work of finding the lost sheep? If we are going to be like Jesus, we will have an outward focus, and we will lovingly keep seeking those lost sheep one at a time, instead of focusing on the 99.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 20-23.