On January 2, a twelve-year-old boy from Chickasha, Oklahoma went missing. His mother and stepfather were arrested on allegations of neglect and abuse. A massive search began, and the boy was found near Cement, OK several days after he went missing. There is a lot about this story that is tragic. But the thing that intrigued me was the search effort that took place. It was not just the police, sheriff’s department, or professional search and rescue. People from all over the area began searching. News outlets reported that hundreds of people volunteered to search for this one twelve-year-old boy. That is a bright spot in an otherwise very sad story.
When the Pharisees and scribes complained about Jesus, it was because of the fact that He did not shun the “tax collectors and sinners.” He actually ate with them. He did not condone their lives, but He wanted them to have access to the good news. Jesus did not try to explain Himself to the scribes and Pharisees, other than telling them this parable.
“So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “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? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:3-7)
Our Savior commends searching. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10). The human heart does not seek the things of God. Paul wrote to the Romans, “There is none who seeks for God;” (Rom. 3:11). But God seeks for us. Not because He is empty without us, but because He is a God of great mercy, Who is glorified in the lost being found and in the sinner being saved.
If our Savior searches, and if God seeks after us, as Spurgeon put it, “as a hound of heaven,” then we would do well to be seeking those who need to hear the gospel. We want 2026 to be a year where CHBC is serious about making disciples. Helping people think and act more like Jesus every day. Disciple making does not occur because we get people in the right pond of water and hope they will float into a relationship with Jesus. Disciple making begins by using every means available to us to find people in the rivers of life, and guiding them toward a relationship with Jesus, or toward a deeper relationship with Jesus.
What rivers are you currently searching in? You might be home with children for much of the day. How are you guiding them toward a relationship with Jesus or a deeper relationship with Jesus? Your river might be your school. Your river might be your job? What about the rivers where you buy coffee, shop for groceries, eat out regularly, or work out? These are all places where you will find people swimming up a stream and getting nowhere. How can you guide them toward Jesus or into a deeper relationship with Jesus?
Hundreds drove to Chickasha to find a twelve-year-old boy so he could get out of the elements, get medical care, food, shelter, and love. What are we going to do so that people get out of hell, and experience grace, love, forgiveness, and eternal life?
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
