"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which is lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner which repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." -Luke 15:4-7
When we think of this parable we think of two things.
First, the Lord is the Good Shepherd, who loves all of his sheep and will seek after them.
Most of the time through his servants.
The second, we have to seek after those under our care who have gone astray.
Whether we are the young women's president with one girl who hasn't been to church since she was baptized and you haven't met.
Or we are the elder's quorum president with 25% attendance.
(I really hope no one has that statistic)
We are to seek after them.
But I want to look at this parable, and another with a different perspective.
Let's pretend for a second we can understand sheep communication.
We hear about how the Shepherd calls together all of his friends to celebrate the sheep's return, but how do you think the ninety and nine sheep react?
Sheep can be kind of stubborn so I think that they would tease that lost sheep.
Probably with something like:
Baaaa ba ba ba baaaaaaaa
Interpreted as: "Silly sheep. Going off and getting lost."
Or:
Bababababa baaaabaaaa
Which means: "Selfish jerk. I can't believe you made the Shepherd leave all of us just for you."
Some might even say:
Bababababa baaabaaabaaa Babababababa
In English: "You are so dumb. And will always be that way."
And they would turn their backs on that poor guy, who didn't know the way, and was lost, cold, and scared.
But in the scriptures we also talk about how sheep are meek and humble.
So some could also say "Welcome back. I am so happy to see you." Or even "You are shivering, here, take my warmth. Let's get you some food." One might even say, "You've been gone all day, come join us. I am so glad our Shepherd brought you home. We have been worried."
(Sorry, my sheep is rusty so I can't give you the translation)
These sheep have a choice on how to help the one who was lost.
Can you see where this is going?
In middle school I made some different choices. I didn't know who I was and didn't quite have a testimony yet. I was lost. And while I was lost I made some dumb choices.
When I finally decided to find my testimony, I came back and tried my best to repent of the mistakes that I made.
Now I didn't exactly leave the church, but most of the LDS kids my age knew how I acted. I had to make some big changes when I finally found my testimony.
Some of those kids saw the choices I made and saw me one way. And then when I had changed, they kept me in that view. Never forgiving me for falling away and not really wanting to let me back in.
I know there are many people who feel the same way. They were lost, and when they came back, members only saw them for the choices that they made, not for who they are and who they can be.
Let's face it. At one point in time we are all going to be the lost sheep. We are all going to be the prodigal son. And the eruption in heaven that happens when we come back is astounding. But on earth, it may not be the same. And it makes it really hard to come back, because you aren't welcomed back into the fold. But we still come back.
We will be lost in one way or another. We aren't perfect. That's a fact.
While we are going to be the prodigal son. We get to choose whether or not we will be the elder brother when another prodigal son returns.
We get to choose whether or not we are going to be upset over the joy of the prodigal son's return. We get to choose to let our pride stand in the way of helping another into the fold and stay there. We get to choose whether or not we see other's for their choices or who they really are. Sons and daughters of God, who can share with us in exaltation.
A recent Mormon Message helps to illustrate how:
We all have the same goal. The return to our Heavenly Father. That is why we are all here.
It isn't a competition. We all have the opportunity to get there. So why not help another out? Why not help a fellow lost sheep get there?
We all have a desire to be forgiven and given a chance.
We need to pass that on to others.
Allow them to come back. Allow them to repent. Allow them to prove their willingness to contribute to the church.
Don't hold them in this eternal pit of being condemned for their choices.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all me."
Even if they don't wrong us, we still have to be there for them to improve.
President Monson said "We need to bear in mind that people can change. They can put behind them bad habits. They can repent from transgression. They can bear the priesthood worthily. And they can serve the Lord diligently… It is our responsibility to give them opportunities to live as they should. We can help them overcome their shortcomings. We must develop a capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become when they receive testimonies of the gospel of Christ."
They're going to mess up. They won't change right away. But that is why they need our help to return. They can't do it alone. We need to be tools in the hands of Christ to help them come back on that path.
Don't be the other prodigal son. It is hard enough that we once were or will be the first prodigal son.
Help others to return.
And let them come back.
After all, what fun will the celestial kingdom be if our friends and family aren't there?
No comments:
Post a Comment