It may be because I am a pastor and have heard all kinds of religious-sounding statements. One of those comes from people who talk about their party-animal friend or long time rebellious family member who finally becomes a Christian. They say things like, “You know, George found the Lord.” Or maybe they say, “Ana finally found God.” Kind of absurd, isn’t it? Like God was lost?! Really, the meaning is after many years of searching in a sinful life, George/Ana/whoever decided to find God. Sounds comforting, but it just is not true.
I love what one of the great pastors of the last century, A. W. Tozer, wrote. “Before a man can seek God, God must have first sought the man. Before sinful man ever had a right thought of God, there must have been an enlightenment done within him.”
Jesus said that He came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” [Luke 19:10 NASB] It was not God who was lost, but people. To be lost means “being destroyed.” Jesus’ mission was to go after people who were being destroyed. He even says it is better to leave 99 people who have been found and go after the one who is lost to Him.
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? [Luke 15:4 NASB]…
Leave the 99 and go for one?! Seems strange, doesn’t it?
If one of your children were lost in a foreign city and you could not find them, how many of you would say,”Well, at least I still have my other son Adrian here. That will have to do.” No! You would do everything you had to do to find your lost child.
That is what church is to do. Seek and find those lost to God. That means put money and energy into the pursuit of them, money that could be spent on other things back with those nice church people. The Church is Jesus’ body here on earth. We are to do what He did. Jesus would often leave a village that was experiencing His miraculous powers and hearing His awesome sermons, and strike out for another town. He would say, “I must preach there also.” Maybe those people pouted and said, ”Hey Jesus, come back here. We want to hear some more of those great messages.”
Christians can be like that. “Pastor, why are you spending so much time and effort working with those “other” people? Why are you changing things to try to get new people in this church? We like things the way they were!”
Jesus left the ninety-nine to go for the one. So should the church.
The phrase “Seeker Friendly” is right for the church. The church is called to seek. And when they do, they become the friendliest church in town. Something great happens to a church when they have the heart of the Savior for people lost to God. It can make church uncomfortable at times, like having a lot of long lost relatives over for a holiday. It does get messy. But it is supposed to cost us something. After all, it cost the Father the death of His Son.