99% Happy
“‘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.’”
Today’s Text: Matthew 18:10-20 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Matthew 18 starts off talking about humility being necessary for life in the kingdom of God (18:1-5). And then Jesus instructs the disciples that it is imperative to not cause any of His followers to stumble into sin (18:6-9). Why? Because “your Father in heaven is not will that any of these little ones should perish” (18:10-14). And then Jesus talks about church discipline, in the case that anyone should stumble OR cause anyone to stumble (18:15-19). To which, Peter asks Jesus whether forgiving someone seven times for sinning against him is sufficient before breaking fellowship. To which, Jesus replies, No—70, seven times. In other words, 70x70x70x70x70x70x70. Basically, always forgive when people seek reconciliation (18:21-22). And then Jesus closes with the parable of the unmerciful servant (18:23-35), the lesson being, the Lord does not take kindly to unforgiving hearts.
In my time as a pastor (and even as a servant), the part of chapter 18 that people bring up the most is church discipline. And typically, it is because someone feels strongly that a brother or sister is in need of church discipline.
And while we should not ignore church discipline, I think we need to weigh the provision of church discipline against Jesus’s emphasis in Matthew 18 as a whole. Because it’s quite clear that Jesus’s emphasis is that our “Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” And radical forgiveness is an essential ingredient in helping to prevent any of those who believe in Jesus (verse 6) from stumbling or perishing. And radical forgiveness requires a radically humble posture.
There is not enough space to dwell on what “perish” means. Because theologically speaking, once a person is saved, they cannot lose their salvation.
But just based on this parable, if we could expand our understanding of God’s election to communities and not just to individuals, we might see how God could save whole communities by the gospel of Jesus Christ according to His predestined plan, and yet understand how individuals could become detached from the redemption found in those elect communities.
In other words, perhaps salvation is offered to peoples (and by extension to all peoples), whereas the loss of salvation might occur on an individual basis. Perhaps that is what “perish” means. And that loss of salvation is NOT something that God had predestined. However, it is what God foreknew.
Anyway, I’m sure that throughout the history of the church, some of the “99” who were left grazing on the hillside noticed the shepherd had gone off in search of the one who went astray. And in noticing the shepherd gone, they would complain, “What about me? Why is the shepherd so concerned about the sinner who doesn’t want to stay in the flock, anyway. What about ME?”
It’s difficult to know how to respond to people who have that posture, because my heart goes out to them too. And in a sense, that posture suggests that they may not be one of the “99” but the “1.” It’s quite the catch-22.
But I find some consolation in that many of those who have that posture eventually seem to end up in flocks that focus most of their energies on the “99” and don’t care much about the “1.” Well, they care about the “1” as long as the “1” doesn’t want to be a part of the “99.” The “1” is too different. The “1” doesn’t belong with the “99.”
I think that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, need to seriously retrain ourselves in terms of what makes us happy and sad. If we could train ourselves to be happy with what Jesus is happy about and sad with what Jesus is sad about, we would be happy 99% of the time.
Father, You are love, and You are sovereign. Your word is a light for our path, yet we stray into dark paths. Forgive us for our selfish attitudes, even when it comes to our salvation. I am clueless about the mysteries of Your sovereignty and grace. But just give us Your heart for Your church and for the lost. And may we rejoice with You in every lost soul recovered. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
