Lost or Sought?
When you think of the unsaved millions in the world -- how do you think about them? I'm thinking about non-Christians. They might be co-workers, friends, neighbours, and/or family members. How do you think about them? It matters how you think of them. It really does. I like to explain what I mean. I like to suggest a nuance that might bring about a shift in your thinking. And if your thinking changes, perhaps this might change how you live.
In Luke 15 Jesus tells us three stories to counter the grumbling of the religious heavy weights in his day. See, they complained that Jesus hung out with sinners, and even ate with them. And partied with them. How ludicrous! So they grumbled. But Jesus explains.
He tells us of a farmer who had a 100 sheep, but one dumb sheep went astray. He lost one of them. But then he leaves the 99 to look for the one that was lost. After finding it, he came home rejoicing and threw a celebration with his friends and neighbours. The invitation went like this: "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost."
In the second story there was a woman who had 10 coins. But she loses one of them. This coin might have belonged to the wedding necklace she received on her wedding day. Very precious! Like a diamond missing in an engagement ring -- one coin was lost. So she lit up her house and swept every nook and cranny until she found the lost coin. Like the farmer, she threw a celebration, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost."
In the final story there was a man who had two sons. The younger son decided to cash in on his future inheritance and leave his father and brother to squander his wealth on wine, women, and song. Soon he was cashless and had to resort to doing menial tasks among pigs -- hoping to eat a little of the mush he fed the hogs. One day he comes to his senses and decides to return home. His father was waiting and looking down the road for the return of his lost son. When he saw him in a distance he ran to meet him and welcomed him home with open arms. The father spared no expense in throwing a party to celebrate the fact that his son had come home. In his words: "My son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." Much music and dancing filled the night air as the father rejoiced over the return of his son.
So here the deal. What is common in each of these stories Jesus told? Immediately we conclude that the common element is "the lost." A lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. That is true. And when we think about non-Christians - pagans, atheists, agnostics, people from other religions, unbelievers - we also think about them as being "lost." We think of them like the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. We are found, we are saved. They are unsaved, they are lost. That is also true.
But there is another element common in each of the stories that is equally true. The sheep, coin, and son were not only lost; they were sought! The farmer sought. The woman sought. The father sought. The sheep, coin, and son were not only lost; they were sought!
How might our lives change if we no longer think of non-Christians as "the lost" but begin to think of them as "the sought"? When we think of them as "the lost" we can easily put up barriers to avoid these people. It is us and them! But if we think of them as "the sought", each time we meet a Muslim neighbour, an unsaved co-worker, an unbelieving relative -- we begin to see them as someone we are seeking, someone we are desiring to bring into the fold, into the family of God. Jesus came "to seek and save the lost." That is why Jesus hung out with sinners -- the whole lot of them. And ate with them And partied with them. The sinners were not just lost; they were sought. Sought by Jesus.
Someone suggested to me a couple of years ago that we change the vision of the CRCA. She did not like the word "lost" in our vision statement: "A church reforming to reach the LOST for Christ." Perhaps our vision ought to read: "A church reforming to reach the SOUGHT for Christ." Words matter. And the way we think about unbelievers matters. Let us think of them as the sought.
So who are you seeking? Who is the sought in your life? Something to think about.
About the author
Jack De Vries was hired on by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and began his work as Ministry Training Coordinator in January 2008. In 2012 this role shifted to that of Ministry Development Coach.
Jack came from Canada where he pastored three Christian Reformed churches: Alliston CRC, Alliston, Ontario(1983-87), a church plant: New Life Community Church, Pickering, Ontario(1987-95), and Bethel CRC, Listowel, Ontario (1995-2007). Jack is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity - 1983) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry - 2003) Jack and his wife Jeannie currently live in Petrie, a northern suburb of Brisbane in Queensland. They attend and are members of Bray Park Community Church. They have four adult children and seven grandchildren living in the USA and Canada.
In Isaiah 58:11 we read: "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Australia has seen times of drought and floods. There is another type of drought in Australia; there is a spiritual drought. But God promises to provide refreshing rain, a never ending supply of refreshing water. The water he provides will satisfy the needs of all Australians. As we take up the missional vision God has given us we extend the life changing invitation of Jesus: "Come! Whoever is thirsty, come, and take the free gift of the water of life!" (Revelation 22:17)
