John 10: Looking for the Others
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I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.
I must bring them also.
They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
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Jesus said a lot of shocking things, and this is near the top of the list. Speaking to the chosen few, he said it wasn't all about them. Jesus also wanted to reach the unchosen: the least, the last, and the lost.
It's tempting to focus on our own little group. MY church. MY town. MY flock. But if you want to walk with Jesus, you have to get out among the ones who haven't been reached.
The past 12 months have taught us a lot about reaching a world without borders. We've been forced to get out of the building--forced to use new tools in new ways.
The Apostle Paul loved to reach people face-to-face, but he was reduced to writing letters from a prison cell. There is good evidence that his eyesight was so bad that he couldn't even write them himself. All he managed to do was write more than 1/4 of the New Testament. His words are still reaching people today.
It was a huge loss when Paul couldn't reach people in person. But that loss became our gain. He reached more people than he could possibly have dreamed.
As we move into a post-Covid world, we have learned to use tools that Paul could never have imagined. We're anxious to get back to 2019, but it's not all about us. The right question is how to reach even more people for Christ.
When we focus on that, we're walking with Jesus.