This post is about one of my long time pet peeves with the church. It is about the faces I see or have seen in the seats and pews that I no longer see. It is my concern for the sheep that have gone astray. I am often thinking about what is done to follow up with people and find out why they are not with us. Some like to call them lost. There is a piece of scripture that talks about the lost sheep. I prefer to call them strays. I call them strays because sheep just don’t get lost. They usually have a pen and they usually have a shepherd or some method of keeping them where they are supposed to be. If a sheep is not in the pen it is because it wandered off or strayed away to find something more exiting outside its pen.
So why am I talking about sheep anyway? I talk about sheep because we humans are like sheep in many ways. I know it is not very flattering to be compared to sheep but I didn’t design it, God did. The Bible actually compares us believers to sheep in the Gospel of John. It also describes Jesus Christ as the “Good Shepherd”. 
It is unfortunate that us sheep are disobedient and want to check out other pens. When a sheep wanders out and moves to another pen, away from the shepherd, the evil wolves wait to devour them.
In Jesus’ parable in Luke 15 we see that every sheep is important to the shepherd. Every person is important to Jesus. Whatever your situation in life, however bad you are, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, “lays down His life for you.” He says, “Take My hand.” If you will turn your life over to Jesus Christ He will give you pardon, peace, purpose, power, and a permanent relationship with God.
When I look around and don’t see someone that once was present I want to find out where they wandered off to and what pen they are in. Sometimes I feel as though my concern is not shared. I even heard once that Jesus never followed up with anyone and there is no evidence in the Bible that he did so. I can’t argue the issue of no proof that Jesus followed up with anyone. But do we need to argue it? Who thinks Jesus needs to physically follow up with someone to know where they are? C’mon, we are talking about the great “I AM, I AM” here. He knows each and every hair on your head. He created all. He was here before here was here. He is omnipotent and sovereign. He doesn’t need to follow up because he knows. He knows your name and he knows where you are, what you are thinking and where your heart is.
There is evidence in the Bible that God does want us to follow up with people. There is plenty of evidence.
Let me start with a passage in the Old Testament: “The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” (Ezekiel 34:4). God was not happy with the shepherds of Israel. They did not seek after the strays. They were out of favor because they didn’t work hard enough to save the lost sheep.
John Chrysostom said, “…if a human being wanders away from the right faith, great exertion, perseverance and patience are required; for he cannot be dragged back by force, nor constrained by fear, but must be led back by persuasion to the truth from which he originally swerved. The pastor therefore ought to be of a noble spirit, so as not to despond, or to despair of the salvation of wanderers from the fold, but continually to reason with himself and say, ‘Peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.” Don’t be swayed by the reference to pastor in that passage because it pertains to all of us brethren. If we are saints in His kingdom we are all lay ministers and need to follow up with our fellow brothers and sisters in the kingdom.
Now I bring attention to what I call the “one another’s” in the Bible. There are many but we really only need to look at one. “Love one another”. That one is actually a commandment. Now I ask you this, “How can you love one another without following up with one another?” You can’t. Need I say more? If the Lord commands us to love one another he also is commanding us to follow up with one another.
I place before you a list of 22 of the fantastic ‘one another’ verses in the Bible. As you read through them ask yourself how many of them you can do without seeking the lost among us, finding the strays or following up.
1. ‘Do not deceive one another’ – Leviticus 19:11
2. ‘Show Mercy and Compassion to one another’ – Zechariah 7:9
3. ‘Love one another’ – John 13:34,35
4. ‘Be devoted to one another’ – Romans 12:10
5. ‘Live in Harmony with one another’ – Romans 12:16, 1 Peter 3:8
6. ‘Accept one another’ – Romans 15:7
7. ‘Instruct one another’ – Romans 15:14
8. ‘Agree with one another’ – 1 Corinthians 1:10
9. ‘Greet one another with a holy kiss’ – 2 Corinthians 13:12
10. ‘Serve one another in love’ – Galatians 5:13
11. ‘Bearing with one another in love’ – Ephesians 4:2
12. ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another’ – Ephesians 4:32
13. ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’ – Ephesians 5:19
14. ‘Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ’ – Ephesians 5:21
15. ‘Admonish one another’ – Colossians 3:16
16. ‘Encourage one another’ – 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25
17. ‘Spur one another on toward love and good deeds’ – Hebrews 10:24
18. ‘Do not slander one another’ – James 4:11
19. ‘Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling’ – 1 Peter 4:9
20. ‘Love one another deeply’ – 1 Peter 1:22
21. ‘Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another’ – 1 Peter 5:5
22. ‘Have fellowship with one another’ – 1 John 1:7
We are instructed to worship steadfastly (think about that word) and to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together but to exhort one another. (Hebrews 10:25)
So can you think of someone who hasn’t been to church in a long time? Did they leave without even an explanation or a good-bye? What about people in our communities and neighborhoods that just plain don’t go to church. Where’s the love?
Anyone that considers themselves a Christian and also considers themselves a leader should be taking a lead in showing genuine concern for the strays or for the lost. We should be seeking them with a “noble spirit” and as a patient servant.
We should be rounding up those strays.
It amazes me how fast I can fill a post with words…
God bless you all,
“The Tubthumper”