Who Is Seeking Whom?

In the church I grew up in we used to have “testimony services.” Folks were encouraged to stand up and volunteer a good witness for the Lord. (If enough didn’t respond we “blessed” them with a request to stand and testify.) I honestly don’t remember anything I may have said, but I do remember that everyone seemed to say about the same thing every time. It was like a rehearsed “elevator speech.” Those who were new to the church often started something like this: “I’m so very thankful that I finally found the Lord!” (Amen! Hallelujah! Well!) It made me wonder – is the Lord lost? Is it up to us to do God a favor by looking for him, finding him? Aren’t we the ones who are lost? And isn’t God the one who is looking for and seeking us?

My conclusion is that human beings are so lost we are incapable of even considering looking for God. “There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:11). If faith is our response to God’s initiative, then you never found God – God found you!

Jesus came seeking the lost. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son (Luke 15) all show the nature of the Messianic mission as seeking to find those who are lost. The Father is seeking worshippers. “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). Quoting the prophet Isaiah Paul wrote, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me” (Romans 10:20). Everyone human being is equally lost, and God is seeking to have a relationship with everyone. However, only those who know they are lost, only the ones who are willing to admit their absolute need of God, will be open to God when he comes knocking.

As you know, Jesus compares us to sheep. And that’s not necessarily a compliment. Sheep are delightful creatures, but they are also a bit nervous, insecure, easily frightened off, and in constant need of a shepherd. (Goats have just as much need for a shepherd but…but…but they are unwilling to admit it.) In his teaching Jesus was very clear about the value sheep had in his eyes. To the Pharisees he said, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep” (Matthew 12:11-12). It’s no wonder Jesus is referred to as “that great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20), “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25), and “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4).

Jesus had a strong passion and motivation for everything he did in life, and here it is: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). He saw people as sheep and, as a shepherd, was moved with compassion. His shepherd’s heart moved him to travel “through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Matthew 9:35). At the same time he exhorted his new followers to take up the shepherd’s mantle. “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’” (Matthew 9:37-38). “Found” sheep share in the shepherd’s heart and mission. But they continue to be sheep themselves, requiring wisdom and a humble dependence on their Chief Shepherd. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

After his resurrection Jesus encountered Peter and asked him three times, “Do you love me?” Three times Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” And all three times Jesus replied with the same words of instruction, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Those words summarize our mission as yoked apprentices of Jesus.

All we like sheep tend to go astray, but the Great Shepherd of our souls is continually looking for us, seeking us, finding us. And when we are found, we are called to share in the Shepherd’s heart and mission. In reality, there are no human “seekers.” God is the compassionate Seeker in our midst. God is seeking you. God is seeking your loved ones and neighbors. God is constantly looking for those who will respond to his initiative in their lives. God then calls us to join him in looking for lost sheep. It’s not up to the lost to come to us; it’s up to us to seek them out. We begin by “praying for laborers,” and then we answer our own prayer by reporting for duty.

Do you know anyone who is lost? Do you see who is missing? Sharing in the Shepherd’s heart for sheep will move you to seek them out and let them know they are loved.