Wednesday, August 28, 2019

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?” (Matthew 18:12) 

  I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood

  I know I could always be good

  To one who'll watch over me

  Ella Fitzgerald knew a good song when she found one.

                I found a little lost lamb last week-end. He has been sitting next to me when I am out on the front stoop watching the world go by. I hope he is appreciative of the fact that I rescued him off the mean streets of Peterborough.

                OK, to be honest, it is a little stuffed lamb. It was dropped by a baby whose mother was pushing him/her in a stroller by our house. I didn’t realize the lamb was sitting in the middle of the side-walk until much later. When the mother did not return looking for the toy, I scooped the little guy up and now he sits in the big chair on the stoop. If and when I see her again, I will return the lamb; if not, it has found a new home. He would be loved by any of our grandchildren, I’m sure.

                When I was an Area Minister for the Convention of Baptists of Ontario and Quebec I was working with a church and helping them through a survey I had developed. They strongly objected to the question that asked them to rate how strongly “they had a heart for the lost.” They didn’t use that kind of language in their church, so they defiantly told me. I would probably admit that the phrase can be a bit too much of a religious cliché; too old-fashioned; too evangelistic (!); too old school Christianity.

                But, despite that, I think it is a concept that needs renewal and revitalization and we need to come up with a fresh, relevant and pertinent definition as to what it means to have a heart for the lost.

                Personally, I don’t think of it only pertaining to crusades for lost souls who don’t believe in Jesus. Rather, I strongly interpret the phrase in the same context of Jesus’ example: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36, NLT)

                 This is not about cajoling people into the Church and buying into its Creeds, Doctrines and  Dogma.

                To have a heart for the lost is to have compassion on those who are indeed lost and bewildered in this crazy world of ours. It is the loving means for helping people who are confused or angry or who can find no purpose or meaning. It is the wisdom of love for those who are lost and are susceptible to the many strong and negative winds of culture. It is the welcoming invitation to come in the from the cold and harsh climate of a society which often doesn’t care or notice.

It is the chief ministry of those who have found great inspiration and motivation in Jesus Christ  to have a compassionate, kind, caring, loving, just heart for any who are lost – rich or poor, male or female, young or old, and so on. It is to share the opportunity to others to make better choices, to discover more meaningful values, to find hope and joy, to re-ignite the heart and soul.

Sometimes, we don’t do as good a job of having heart for the lost as Jesus, the Good Shepherd, might like. We try to cram everybody in the same sheep pen and demand that they just obey the rules of the fold. But instead, we might think of gathering the lost ones on our shoulders and giving them a lift, help treat their bruises and sores, tend their brokenness and look after their thirst and hunger.

Then and maybe only then, we tell them that we did it in the name of Jesus.

And wait to see their reaction!

Dale