Redefine The Lost
When you read the parable of the lost sheep, do you imagine Jesus "the good shepherd," holding a sheep in his shoulder? Or the song of "Reckless Love"?
I do! And I know that I'm not alone who is thinking like that. Sometimes, we quickly make conclusions based on what we know. In other words, this is the danger of familiarity.
So, I try to dig by myself.
Who is the sheep?
"...He doesn't want to lose even one of these simple believers." Mat 18:14 MSG.
The sheep are the believers like you and me.
Why do the sheep wander off?
Sheep never had the original intention to wander off. Instead, it's the result of the action/response of something that happens from external factors:
- Most likely is fear of something.
- To escape danger (which is a proven way to survive from the predator)
- Inspect interesting things. They need to get close to the object because of the weird vision.
- The shepherd or the guard dog got distracted.
- They follow other sheep in front of them.
That makes a sheep get lost and do something stupid.
Fact about sheep
Social creatures
They are social beings - need to be in the community - they need their flock. They need at least five sheep around them so they feel safe and not anxious or stressed. Seems familiar?
Sheep are followers. They were born with an autopilot mode to follow, never by conscious choice. So, when in front of them goes to the wrong path, they will follow without even thinking, which leads them to trouble.
A sheep scared of being alone. This situation will makes them stress, scared, depressed, and anxious.
“If a man”
Back to the Bible. When I read this parable closely, The AMP version said,
12 ""What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost?
Wait for a second, "If a man???"
This verse is not pointing to Jesus only, but us! Did you know someone willing to do this? Definitely, it's not every man wants to do this.
"A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him, and he isn't their shepherd. And so, the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. "John 10:12 NLT
A hired man may not care if one sheep gets lost or try to protect them from danger. But, we know that the Bible wrote a story of a young boy who was willing to fight the bear and lion to defend a couple of his father's sheep. His name is David.
What does it all mean?
Let me ask you some questions:
As a sheep (believers). Do you believe that even though you make stupid things and put your life in danger, there will be someone looking for you?
In our modern context, are you that man? Are you willing to find one of your believer friends that were lost?
What is lost?
In the past, I often heard teaching saying that 'lost' means you are disconnect from God, or didn't go to the church anymore, and so on. Of course, that's true, but I think it's a narrow description of "lost."
Honestly, sometimes when we are scared, stressed; we run away from danger in the wrong ways. Not by our intention to leave the community, or we don't want to listen to the 'shepherds. We still hear it.
As a matter of fact, we still remember all the Bible verses and go to the church! Sometimes even we are fed up with the people who gave us bible verses and pray. We know the truth! (Or at least still know some truth)
But yet, somehow, our life and mental health go on a downward spiral. The more we run, the more we stuck into our stupidity. We cannot get up by ourselves, and it seems the hope is gone. So it is also 'the lost.'
For others could be in the form of losing vision of life. Usually, they know what they do and direction, but somehow seasons of life bring them to uncertainty.
Lost could be in various forms and have a broader spectrum. So, what are your 'lost' look like?
Do not think that you are forever safe and sane. Because sometimes in one point in our life we could be the lost. And this is normal. We are still human. That's why we need communities to guard each other.
Wherever you go
The good news is:
'Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you're there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you're there too! Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me.' Psalms 139:7-8,10
Wherever you go - even to the deepest darkest thought or do the most stupid things - He doesn't want to lose you. But, do you really believe that?
God can send someone to come into your life in wonderful ways to help you get up again.
The Sheperd
On another side, to reach out to someone who was lost is tiring and costs you a lot of your time and energy. Sometimes they reject us. It's not our responsibility do they want to accept the help or not.
When you want to help people, don't just give them the Bible verse or pray, but offer them practical help and actions. Sometimes just be there and listen to them. Sometimes you need to remind them and speak life.
Would life be wonderful when we help each other? One time you are lost, and another time you are the shepherd to help others too.
If you can help them get back to Jesus and get up with their own feet again. The Bible assures you that you will rejoice over it more than your friends who did not get lost. In other words, it's worth it.
So, how about you? Would you take the initiative to search and help your lost friends?
#selfreminder
This post is my personal notes from the Westmark Bible Study assignment. So, every week we read two chapters together and share what we learned or found from them. Let’s learn and grow together.
A story of Faithful Till The End. - Tribute to my Dad, Henoch Robijanto