Luke 19:10…“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Christ’s words mean that he came to save everyone, since there is no one who is not in need of being found by him. Whether or not the lost acknowledge it—whether or not they even know they’re lost—Christ seeks them with the purpose to rescue them.
This morning, my wife and I started a three-day intensive potty-training session with my daughter. It went as well as it could go with only one major accident.
It’s an allegory for a certain of experience I have had as a teacher, namely this sequence:
- I’m not sure I am teaching my student anything new.
- Even if I was, I’m not sure my student could articulate what that something new was.
- The training has a pretty clear goal for the student, though. She either goes to the potty or doesn’t.
- Ultimately the exact reasons for getting the student to that goal are not as important as the student accomplishing the training’s goal.
- In this way, this training is an example of grace for both the student and teacher.
Before today, Catherine had never gone a day of her life without wearing a diaper. Whether she was ready or not, she had never done what a growing child should do: leave the diaper behind and begin to use the potty for herself. Whether she could have articulated that to herself or not, it was true. She was, in a way, lost.
I’ve been going back and forth over the past few months about my goals regarding discipling students, especially as it concerns leading others to Christ. I have decided to focus my prayer and goals on sharing the gospel more than the end result because ultimately am not responsible for someone else’s spiritual status; the holy spirit is. If I start holding myself accountable for someone else’s acceptance or refusal of the gospel, a number of bad things are bound to happen.
But just as my wife and I were the ones who led Catherine through the process of discovering a new way of using her body today—at least partially through personal example—I can be the one who can declare our need for Christ and the way that Christ sought and saved me. Whether or not what I said is responsible for the person’s conversion shouldn’t matter as much as the fact that someone new has been added to God’s kingdom.
God, give me the grace to live out your truth: that you sent your Son to seek and save us.