“The Lost are right in front of us”

The Parables of Jesus

March 18, 2022

“The Lost are right in front of us.”

Matthew 18:12-14;11, Luke 10:2-3

A new commercial hit the airwaves several weeks ago. After watching it, my wife Kathy looked at me and said, “That’s you.!” Of course, she was correct; it was me.

The commercial had a man searching for something all over the house. Finally, he comes into the living room, where his wife is watching television. As he opens his mouth to ask his wife a question, your focus goes to the top of his head. That’s where his glasses are, similar to the photo above. Then we see the guy on his knees looking under the sofa’s cushions next to where his wife is sitting. He says, “Have you seen my glasses anywhere.” She looks at him with a sly smile and says, “They’ll show up.”

I’ve lost my glasses on my head, in the bedroom,  kitchen counter, and the workbench in the garage. I’ve gone through every room of the house multiple times and just given up. Then in a little while, I’ll come across my glasses, right where I left them, or I’ll hear my wife in another room yell out, “Found ’em.”

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This brings us to today’s story. The Parable of the Lost sheep.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off And, if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14

Today let’s focus this discussion on the lost sheep and the importance of pursuing people who are lost. But, first, let me add another verse that is not found in all of the manuscripts of Matthew. Here is verse 11, possibly borrowed from Luke 19:10.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Matthew 18:11

Jesus is always seeking to save the lost. The Parable of the lost sheep tells us that God’s Kingdom is available to everyone, even people who are sinners and have wandered off of God’s chosen path for them.

You may have noticed that I named this devotion, “The Lost are right in front of us.” I was not necessarily referring to my lost glasses or my wallet that I misplace just as often.

When I read the Parable of the lost sheep, it reminds me of the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus sends out the 72.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Luke 10:2-3

You and I are the workers; the harvest field is the world. Although we will undoubtedly face problems when bringing the Gospel message to the world, that’s our job.

Jesus said to His disciples, “GO.” We see this instruction again in Matthew 28, in Jesus’ Great Commission, when He tells the disciples to “Go and make disciples.”

Nothing has changed in 2000 years. As followers and believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must follow His directive. We are to go out into the world and find the lost sheep and bring them the message of Good News of Jesus. As I mentioned earlier, God’s Kingdom is available to everyone. There are lost sheep all around us; all we need to do is plant the seeds of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Dear Jesus. We know that it brings you great joy when even one lost soul returns to you. May we be your hands and feet in the harvest field. Guide us as we bring the message of redemption, forgiveness, and God’s love to all of the lost sheep that will hear. Amen.