Greetings Friends:
PLEASE READ:
Ezekiel 34:12 & 16a
“As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness…… I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak”+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”+++++++++++++++++++++++++
The second lady looked at the little boy sadly for a moment and then started talking with him. She asked him if he was traveling alone. “Yes,” he said, “I always travel alone. My Mommy and Daddy are both dead and I live with Aunt Clara. But Aunt Clara thinks that Aunt Mildred ought to take her turn in taking care of me too. So whenever she gets tired of me, she sends me to Aunt Mildred. I’m going to Aunt Mildred’s now.”
The woman said, “It must be tough traveling alone.” “Yeah,” said the little boy, “it is. But I never get lost. But,” he said, “sometimes I do get very lonesome. So whenever I see someone with a kind face I sit close to them, and pretend that I belong to them and that they belong to me.” After a few moments of silence the boy said softly, “I sure hope that Aunt Mildred is home when I get there, because it looks like it is going to rain and I don’t like to be outside when it rains.” The woman reached over and grabbed the boy, hugged him so tight that it almost hurt and wished for a moment that this little boy who wanted so much to belong could belong to her.
Friends, we would probably be surprised by the people we see everyday at work, at school, at the gym, at the library, even in our churches who are like that boy on the bus. People who are being tossed all about by life, not gaining acceptance, being pushed aside, traveling alone, no one really taking an interest in them, hoping that there is someone who really cares. People who are just hoping that someone with a kind face will welcome them and let them know that they are loved and accepted.
Real Christian love reaches out to others on this journey of life. As disciples of Christ we are called to embrace these “lost souls” just as our faithful, holy God has embraced us when we were lost and lonely.
Shalom,
Pastor Jim
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