How did Jesus intend for all lost people, from every tribe, language, people and nation, to discover that He has already paid the price for them? In his stories about lost sheep and lost coins, Jesus reminds us that the most natural thing to do when something is lost is to go looking for it. Even if, in the case of sheep, it means leaving ninety-nine others behind to find the missing one. Jesus even tells us that the Shepherd is “happier about the one than about the 99 that have not strayed” (Matthew 18:13). Has that truth really gripped us? The sad reality is that we as churches spend most of our time and resources on ourselves, we still suffer from “people blindness,” our priorities are elsewhere, and we are engaged in theological battles among ourselves.
by S. Kent Parks and John Scott
A Capetown 2010 Advance Paper