My trusty thesaurus gives me several synonyms for the word seek: pursue, search for, try to find, hunt for, look for and seek out are a few of the options.
I’ve been pondering this idea of what it means to seek something. In Luke 19:10 Jesus tells us “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” I think most of us know this verse well. It’s at the end of the narrative where Jesus interacts with Zacchaeus, the wee little man.
All throughout the Gospels we find Jesus seeking the lost, interacting with lost people, and acknowledging folks who had been told they were beyond the reach of God. Jesus was seeking them. Jesus was looking for them. Jesus was pursuing them. Jesus was searching for them.
What about us? What about you? What about me? Do you seek the lost? Do you pursue the lost? Do you search for the lost? Do you try to find the lost? Do you seek out the lost? What does it look like in your life to seek the lost? When’s the last time you went looking, in search of someone who was lost?
We’ve built a system in the North American church that relies upon the lost somehow finding their way to us. We wait for them, we prepare for them and we get ready for when they come. If we’re honest, the system we rely upon counts on the lost doing most of the seeking.
Jesus sought them. He went looking for them. He went searching for them.
What would it look like for you to seek the lost in your own community? Who would you be talking with on a regular basis that you’re not talking with now? Where would you be spending time that you’re not spending now? What would need to change in your weekly rhythm to create the space necessary to spend some time seeking the lost? What would seeking the lost look like over your lunch hour or during your evening meal times?
My natural inclination is to seek comfort, safety, and security. Jesus sought the lost and I believe he calls us to do the same.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CORRECTION!
listed in the Aug/Sept 2018 issue of The Church Advocate.
The correct date for General Conference Sessions 2019 is JULY 22-24, 2019.