Lost but not overlooked

I've been thinking a lot lately about values. Well, it's what I do with clients but I always want to keep interrogating my own and how well my actions align with my professions... or fall short... #human

I've been going through a real good 'wilderness' phase in recent months and it is RICH. It's causing me to question a lot of the deeper premises and assumptions I and those I've let mentor me hold, and allowing myself to dream bigger with God as I compare each of those things against the example of Jesus I see modelled in the Bible.

Now this is the moment where I always say that you don't need to share my faith to get something from what I'd about to say, and it's also the moment where I've been saying more and more that if you DON'T share my faith - or perhaps even if you do - I want to equip you to recognise when any 'Christian' is losing the plot and going off piste from what the Bible calls us Christians to be like.

So here's where I'm going today: LOST THINGS

In Luke 15, one of the 'Gospels' in the New Testament which covers stories and teachings from Jesus life, there are 3 parables about lost things: there's the lost sheep; the lost coin and the lost son (otherwise known as the prodigal son).

Lost Sheep

Sheep are stupid animals. Their MO, according to a farmer of my acquaintance, is to get themselves into trouble in creative and stupid ways. Hearing this makes me laugh, because Jesus refers to us as sheep - not wily goats. Sheep. The daft animal that invariably needs rescued when its latest bright idea leads to disaster... yep, sounds about right to me!

Jesus tells these stories in response to the criticism of the religious people who turned their noses up at the idea of Jesus hanging out with 'sinners' (read: people who had failings in different areas than them).

So with these stories, Jesus is trying to get across to these people just how much God cares about those that others consider lost, hopeless, beneath their respect.

Jesus treats the least with dignity. He genuinely celebrates them being brought back into the fold. The lost are worth leaving the safety and social comfort of all those safely in the 'in' crowd space to go out and search for. In this story, Jesus talks about leaving the 99 to find the 1.

Notice that it's not about doing what's logical or fiscally prudent. If he were thinking about money, he'd stay with the 99 and write off the 1 as a loss, but a less risky loss financially than leaving the 99 to search for 1 lost sheep. NO, Jesus deliberately talks about leaving the 99 to find the 1, because the 1 matters too. The 1 needs found. 

A consistent theme

Throughout the Bible there is a consistent theme whereby God cares for the vulnerable. He constantly and relentlessly calls his people to care for the 'widow and the orphan', i.e. those most vulnerable in society. It is simply not credible to claim to follow Jesus if we don't follow suit and make this a priority. 

Justifying exclusion or cutting off those outside our '99' is not on.

Standing back at a distance and judging without being prepared to actively seek to find and support the 1 is not ok.

The way of Jesus is not some fluffy thing whereby we secure our ticket to heaven and then just line our own nests till we get there. If we're Christian, we're supposed to be engaged in bringing good news, sight to the blind, setting captives free... and more. And we simply cannot do that with hearts hardened to the plight of the least in society. We don't get to look down on them. We don't get to mock them or berate them. And we certainly don't get to celebrate their belittlement or expulsion from our midst.

That lost sheep may be prone to wander, it may be daft and spectacularly gifted at getting itself into trouble, but make no mistake. That sheep is deeply, passionately loved. It is missed from the midst, the 99 cannot fill the gap it leaves, and Jesus is thrilled to find that lost 1 and bring them back to safety with him. I don't know about you, but that's the vibe of Christian I want to be.

I'm a sheep that has needed pulled out of trouble more times than enough, and knowing I am never beyond his love and concern is hugely comforting. That's what stands out to me, but what about you?

Whether you share my faith or not, what stands out for you as you read this? What words or phrases resonate or challenge you? Let me know, I read every response.

Luke 15: 1-7 NIV

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.