Tuesday Re-mix – This is a popular post from last year, updated and resubmitted for your consideration and comments.
I have a sort of recurring day dream about my first appearance before God at Judgment time. It’s probably horrible theology on a number of levels, but I just can’t seem to shake the picture, and it is all because of a cool little comment Jesus makes in John 17:12… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
I am haunted by those words, “…none has been lost”. I have this embarrassing picture in mind of my standing in my bath robe in front of God and Him asking me about all the people He placed under my influence in the church and who left the church at one time or another and I never heard from them again. I’m talking about members of Sunday School classes, choir members, committee members, etc. for whom I had some leadership responsibility (or at least a friendship) and who have disappeared from the church’s radar screen. Oh, how I wish I could look up and say (with Jesus) “None has been lost.” But I cannot. Can you?
It is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 18 in his parable of the lost sheep. The context in which Matthew recalls that parable is a very different context from how Luke uses it. Maybe Jesus told the parable more than once. In Matthew, Jesus is clearly talking about the church and “sheep” who wander off. Jesus poses this question: what kind of shepherd would not leave the entire flock in order to go after the one lamb who wanders away? Of course, it makes perfect sense in that scenario that any of us would do that. So, why don’t we do likewise in the church? When one of our flock begins to make decisions that pull him/her away from the Lord and away from God’s people, leaving him/her vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy, why don’t we drop everything to go after that wandering sheep?
A herd animal’s vulnerability when it gets away from the herd is a scary thing. It is an image Peter has in mind in I Peter 5:8 when he refers to our enemy as “…a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. 
Did you know that a lioness will follow a herd for weeks watching and waiting, studying the herd and looking for the weakest members? She patiently waits for that moment when one of the weak members pulls away from the herd and becomes vulnerable. Similarly, our enemy watches and waits, like a lion on the prowl.
One of our jobs as leaders in the church is to go after those sheep who have wandered away, and to find whatever creative means necessary to turn them back toward the flock. I know that is a tall order. I know it raises lots of questions about exactly what that confrontation looks like and how it works (that, of course, is for future posts). But surely it is our responsibility, if we take Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 seriously. Welcome to the Body of Christ!
So, if you look as silly in your bath robe as I do in mine, you better get to work, because there is an embarrassing accounting waiting for us. There are wandering sheep to be found…
© Blake Coffee
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Man, am I in trouble. I don’t even have a bath robe. I guess that I am going to have to take a couple of steps back and look at this whole rich chapter. Do you mean to tell us that we are supposed to look beyond individual verses that fit our purposes and see what the essence is of what Christ is really trying to teach us?
This must weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of pastors everywhere. I know that they have a heart and deep love for their congregation and it grieves them to see someone fall away. I am definitely no theologian, but I see Jesus as the shepherd. He is the one who promises not to lose his sheep, so He is the one who will bring them back into the fold.
People leave churches for many reasons. Lots of people leave because they become uncomfortable with their own sin issues and instead of addressing them, confessing them and turning to Jesus, they choose to run away. I have been guilty of this myself. At one time, there was nothing that any person could do to bring me back, but the Holy Spirit never stopped addressing the issues I wanted to ignore. If the church had not spoken truth and the Word into my life, then I would have had another excuse for continuing in sin. The Holy Spirit brings conviction and when I had exhausted all of my excuses and was miserable in the bondage of sin, I turned to Jesus and surrendered completely. Then I returned to the church in order to have the love, support, accountability and guidance that I needed to continue in my walk with Jesus.
We all know that we can’t run from God. The church should hold a standard set apart from this world. The Word of God does not return void. The world that we live in is filled with ideologies that contradict truth and it is easy to get confused. We need the church to be uncompromising. Some churches feel compelled to make everyone feel comfortable in order to keep them coming back which can override the responsibility of the church to provide a safe place for Christ followers to mature and grow in truth.
Trust God to bring the sheep back into the fold, and know that each day that goes by that you stand in integrity and serve Him in love and truth, you have done your part.
P. S. Pete is funny.
Why oh why must you be so very convicting about this point??!!
Thanks for reminding me of my shepherding responsibilities. A good, timely word!
[...] reference back to the parable of the lost sheep which Jesus uses to lead into this process. See my previous post on this parable. If the motive in your heart is to cause him a little bit of vengeful pain, or to [...]