Finding the lost

Photo By: Peter Neish

“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? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Luke 15:4-6 (NASB)

If you have been around church for any time at all, you’ve almost certainly heard the parable of the lost sheep. A shepherd with 100 sheep discovers one is missing and goes out to recover the one that has wandered off. He celebrates – the Word says “rejoices” – when he finds what was lost.

I was reading that passage recently and something jumped out at me that I never noticed before. The shepherd was interested in recovering what was already His.

A different perspective on outreach

We don’t often think in those terms when we are dealing with the lost.

Sometimes we treat those who haven’t yet come into the Kingdom as if they are enemies that we’re trying to win over. But that’s not the picture we have here. The shepherd wasn’t trying to turn a wolf into a sheep.

Sometimes winning converts is seen as plundering the enemy camp. But this shepherd wasn’t trying to steal from someone else’s flock – he only wanted what was his.

That’s God’s perspective on the lost. They already belong to Him. He is their Father and Creator. They’re just lost, and He is sending us to find them.

Beyond rescue to wholeness

Our responsibility doesn’t end when we find what was lost. If you have ever met someone who has lived in an abusive home, you may be familiar with the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” It describes an altered and illogical way of thinking that occurs when a victim begins to sympathize with the victimizer. The very person who keeps them oppressed seems to be their only friend, their safe place. It’s comfortable. It’s familiar. And they have no idea how much they are actually being controlled.

Non-Christians, and even Christians, can suffer a kind of “Spiritual Stockholm Syndrome.” The demonic oppression rampant in the world is nearly impossible to avoid. Most people don’t even recognize it anymore – they have come to view spiritual darkness and oppression as normal.

Releasing a more excellent way

What would happen if the church got the revelation that our job is to free people from enemy oppression instead of browbeating sinners into repentance? What if we saw them as captives trained to believe lies rather than the opposition that we need to fight or defend against?

The treatment for Stockholm Syndrome is not all that different from what we teach as normal Christian living:

• Therapy – systematically replacing the lies with the truth. (We call this Sozo – being saved, healed, and delivered.)
• Open communication without force by family and loved ones. (We call this relationship.)
• Unconditional love without the threat of judgement. (We call this compassion.)

It really should be that easy. We try to make it so hard sometimes. But it shouldn’t be difficult to bring back the lost sheep that rightfully belong in God’s flock.