Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”  So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:1-7

Do I love who Jesus loves?  In this parable, the one of great value is the one who has strayed the farthest from home, the odd one of the hundred, the one no one is looking for.  Quickly forgotten, he is left to question his own value as, over time, he realizes that no one is pursuing him.  What an awful discovery as he looks over his shoulder and dreams of unconditional love calling his name from behind.  How devastating to realize that the ninety-nine are happy without him. When he has depleted all his resources and realizes he is lost, how will he find his way back? 

Jesus’ heart is for the one so far from the fold.  The Holy Spirit longs to pursue, leaving breadcrumbs as calling cards, wooing the wanderer back onto the pathway that leads to the open arms of the Father.  But He needs people who will carry out this mission of mercy.  

It is easy for us to value those who seem Christian. They look respectable. The ones farthest from Christ can turn us off. Tattoos, piercings, Gothic-style clothing, a past that makes us blush, a language that downright intimidates—these can send us elsewhere to do ministry.

God sent Jesus to ‘seek and to save’ those who are lost.  They need arms to carry them home.  They need to discover that they have been missed.  If I don’t go looking, they will assume that God is no more interested than I am.  I’ve taught them how to perceive God.

Who has wandered from the fold that has all but been forgotten? Is anyone searching for them? Could it be you? Might it be me? 

Make me one in your compassionate search party.  We are Your body – carrying out Your mission of love.  Amen