Stay On Mission – 22nd October 2018

1. Seek!
“For the son of man came to seek and to save what was lost” Luke 19:10
Recently, thanks to the amazing generosity of some very special friends, my wife Lynn, and I were able to spend a week together at Pensacola Beach in Florida.
The first couple of days were dominated by the frequent updates regarding Hurricane Michael that was heading for the Florida Panhandle. We were fortunate, as Michael headed east from where we were and made landfall at Mexico Beach. My heart goes out to so many people whose lives have been impacted in ways that are unimaginable, please pray for them!
The day after the Hurricane had passed the sun rose on a beautiful day so Lynn and I decided to go for a long walk along the beach, a place of amazing beauty. As we walked along we began to notice so many things that had been washed ashore as a result of the hurricane. We saw dozens of enormous Jelly Fish, Starfish, slugs and worms as well as many other things that we didn’t recognize. We also saw thousand of sea shells of all shapes and sizes so Lynn decided that she would make a collection of the best ones that she could find.
She made an announcement ‘I am going to look for the best sea shells and take them home with me’. Having made the announcement she began to do what she said and our walk slowed down considerably as she went from place to place and closely examined piles and piles of shells.
As I watched her doing this I was reminded of the verse in Luke chapter 19 and the amazing truth that Jesus, the son of man, came to SEEK the lost. As Lynn was on her knees and up to her arms in shells it struck me again that Jesus, when he became a man, went looking for the lost. He didn’t wait for them to come inside a building but he went to find them.
Over the next few weeks I will share some of the very simple, but deeply profound things that Lynn experienced as she was looking for the shells that she wanted. Many of these deep and profound truths are very similar to the things that we will experience as we join Jesus in His Mission and go looking for the people that Jesus came to seek and to save.
This week, take a moment to reflect upon your witness as a follower of Jesus and please think about this simple question: ‘Who am I seeking so that they will come to know Jesus?’.