QT 1/25/2022 Matt 18:10-14, Caring about the one who leaves

 

Matthew 18:10–14 (ESV) —

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

 

NOTE: In a certain ministry that I was involved, we used the term FAT (Faithful, Available, Teachable) to describe the type of person we should seek to disciple. A FAT person is the guy who shows up always, who is never too busy to help, and is willing to listen and respond when he is being taught something that might disagree with his old way of thinking. And certainly, I have seen great results with FAT people. And actually, out of one hundred, there are seldom ten FAT people. And so this one, out of one hundred, is probably as far away from FAT as you can get. He isn't in the top ten percent, He is not in the top twenty-five percent. He is not in the top half. He is the bottom one percent. Rather than being faithful, available and teachable, he is probably inconsistent, occupied, and arrogant (IOA). Yet, here is the key, Jesus goes looking for the IOA guy. He doesn't give up. We need to make an effort not to lose these men, but we also need to recognize that some men need to hit a brick wall before they turn around and start walking with God. The Father of the prodigal son did not go after the one prodigal, but he always kept looking for him from afar. When he returned, he ran to meet him. We can't forget our IOAs. We need to pray; we need to try to stay in touch (provided they are not in public sin); we need to be ready for their return; and we need to run and embrace them when they come back.

 

PONDER:

1. This is a hard passage, but when combined with other passages it gives us insight into our lost sheep. Do we still care and pray for those who are wallowing in the cesspool of this world's sin?

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray I would not forget those who struggle to walk with God. I do not want to only focus on the successful but on every person without prejudice. I want to have your concern for the lost.