Seeking the Lost

Yesterday afternoon my son, Jacob, was telling me how he had lost seven golf balls when playing golf earlier in the day.  I was shocked!  Seven???  How??  Why??  When I go with the boys golfing and they lose a ball, I make them look for it and I help them. Then we also look for other lost balls to make up for the ones we don't find!

I asked Jacob about why he didn't go find the lost balls. Here are his answers:

#1 Went in the water...
#2 Was by a SNAKE!!!  (Okay, this one I totally understand!)
#3 Was over the fence in the cow pasture.
#4, #5, #6, and #7???  Well, it seems Jacob was just too lazy to look for these last lost balls.

What if we, as Christians, used this same logic for seeking the lost - the spiritually lost?  What kind of servants of God would we be?

#1 We don't seek to save those that seem unreachable.  We're afraid to get out of our comfort zones and tell others about Jesus.
#2 We let the devil trick us into believing teaching others about Jesus is too scary.  We are afraid to reach out to others.
#3 We see those who are different than us and decide not to "cross over" into unknown territory and talk to others about their spiritual state.  We build walls and fences around others or around ourselves....restricting our service to God.
#4, #5, #6, and #7 We are just too lazy to do what the Lord has asked us to do. We use excuses about doing what we know we should be doing and what we know God wants us to be doing:  It's too hot, too cold, too early, too late, too far, too close, too......whatever.  Excuses.

Of course I wouldn't have wanted Jacob to go into the small pond of water or near the snake to get his lost golf balls, but I was a little bit upset that he hadn't tried to find any of the rest of them.  Surely he could have at least tried!

What would God think of our excuses in the examples above?  Would he approve or disapprove?  Would he pleased or displeased?  Unfortunately, we often-times use excuses and are selfish when it comes to our command of telling others about Christ.  Instead of obeying Him, we take matters into our own hands and make decisions based upon what we think is right instead of by what the Bible says is right.

Jacob will be looking for those lost golf balls just as soon as he has an opportunity to golf again.  He's not off the hook! I'm certain that God expects us to be seeking the lost for Him, too.  We're not getting off the hook, either!

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10

Luke 15 (click to read whole chapter at Bible Gateway)

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

Matthew 28:19-20