Luke 15 is an interesting chapter of the Bible. There, you find the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. In the parable of the lost sheep, a farmer with a 100 sheep loses one. Then he does something weird – he leaves the 99 behind and goes out in search of the lost one. When he finds it, he calls his neighbors to make merry with him because he has found his lost sheep.
Luke 15: 3-7
“So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together all his friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”
I have never understood why, on account of one sheep getting lost, the owner “confidently” left ninety-nine sheep behind to go out after the one. Was that not a time to further heighten security around the remaining ninety-nine so another one doesn’t get missing? What if he had gone on to really find the one like he did in the Bible, but came back to find about 10 of the ninety-nine missing? Here’s the answer; when you go out to seek one lost sheep, the ninety-nine are guaranteed protection.
But my worry lies in here – when last did you go out to seek that lost one? In Acts 1:8, the bible says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Note that, according to this scripture, the mark of the spirit upon our lives is not the working of signs and miracles or speaking in the tongue of the spirit. Rather, the mark of the spirit coming upon us is witnessing about Jesus. Ever wondered why today’s church doesn’t seem to operate in such power as we’ve grown to hear and read concerning the early church? God sees no reason He should fill and re-fill us with power when we are not using his power for what He intends us to use it for.
Christians all over the world are in a rescue mission. Most rescue teams tell their members this all through their training days: “You have to go out to rescue them. You don’t need to come back.”A resolve of this sort will so be on point in Christianity. Of course, we would not be that fatalistic because we know God always looks out for his own. Christians around the world need to take up a bolder resolve concerning soul winning. We must seek to tell others about Christ with any opportunity we get. Imagine melancholy in Heaven because there is no repentant sinner to rejoice over. Who is to blame?
There’s a reason God sends us out as sheep among wolves. There’s a reason He encourages us to leave the ninety-nine sheep to go after the one lost sheep – He’d be there to look out for us. He’d be there to protect us. When God sends, he fends – he wards off any fatal harm that might come our way.
With this thought, let’s go out on a quest to bring as many souls as possible back “home” to God. We’d contribute in no small way to the rejoicing in Heaven. I like the words of the song
“At this moment of the clock,
The thought of a soul that never dies,
Living eternally in hell
Must make us all to be fishers of men.”
More to the point, it must make us willing to go after the lost sheep. Will you go?
Seeking to glorify God in any way possible.
