Thursday, March 15th, 2018

Yesterday marked the National School Walkout, a protest of gun violence by high school students nationwide choosing to walk out of class together. While peaceful protest such as this is foundational in the United States, is it the most effective way to create change? The act of protest is to publicly call for some sort of change, attempting to reach as many ears and eyes as possible. In an age of social media, generating clicks and views seems to be the modus operandi. But how would Jesus approach an issue he wanted changed? When we look to the Bible, we see Jesus operated on the individual level – seeking hearts, not just eyes and ears. Thus, when we publicly protest in the streets we may create a fleeting fad or a viral social media story, but seldom complete the goal of changing a heart. Said another way, by focusing our energy on changing the masses, we fail to change a single individual. As illustrated in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus still seeks the individual regardless of how many he has already with Him. Thus, as Christians, we too should be always seeking individual hearts rather than multitudes of eyes and ears. Matters of the heart are changed by Jesus alone. Today, thank Jesus that he did not rest before seeking and finding you.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” – Luke 15: 1-7 ESV