Losers

Luke 15:4-7

4 " What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  5 "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  6 "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 which was lost!'  7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. NASU

The church has become too complacent with losing people. The church is not the leaders of your church or the teachers or the choir no it is you, each and every one of us. Without the people in the in the audience (the congregation) where would the next church leader come from, or the next teacher or the next choir member/director come from?

There won’t be any new ones. That is the fall of the church. We have stopped caring if people stop coming to our church. I know I am one of those people. I have been on both sides. I have not pursued the people that have left my church nor have I been pursued.

We have become too “politically correct” to chase after the ones that have quit coming. After all they are just quitters, they never were part of “us” and they don’t want to be bothered by us. It is best to just let them go. Go where? To hell?

As the parable says; one sheep is lost. If one of your possessions (livestock, pets, money, etc.) was lost would you not search for it? Would you let a predator devoir it?  I think not. You would find it, save it and restore it.

That is the problem; we don’t own the people that walk away. But that is exactly what we need to do “own them”. I’m not talking slavery here but ownership in the sense that we own where we work, our school or even our church; that is my job, my school and my church. The people that walk away are your family, your brother or sister.

I know that brothers and sisters fight and sometimes don’t want to be around each other but don’t let someone else hurt them. That is the ownership I am talking about. We need to make a nuisance of ourselves being sure that our siblings are safe. If they go to another flock is that flock okay? It could be but we won’t know unless we find out where they went. Is your brother or sister wondering in the wilderness lost and alone, or is the person that left not even related. Have they walked away from Christ?

We cannot make everyone see the light of Jesus and some will choose to go their own way but I want to do everything I can. They are loved and care for not only by God but by all our brothers and sisters.

We need to own up to the fact that if we don’t do it, it won’t get done.