If you know me, you know how I am. I read something on Facebook, it sets me a-thinking, and I write my thoughts down here. I try to control my impulses, but I rarely succeed.
I'm going to start with a story.
A few years ago, when our youngest was a baby, the 2 year old took off at church. Dan was either at a meeting or wasn't there for some reason. I was frantically trying to find my nursery kiddo, while packing an infant car seat full of a baby, and keep track of my line of ducklings with wandering attention. I committed the cardinal sin of modern parenting. I took all of the kids that I had and threw them into the van. Without an adult. It was scandalous. However, I couldn't hunt for a fast moving toddler while I was encumbered by an infant seat and my other ducklings. It just wouldn't do. I couldn't focus on her. Once I got back into the church, I got some adults to help me. One circled the outside of the building. One checked the big rooms. The last one went to the other side of the building and we met in the middle. With the help of those I called on in my moment of need, we found her.
A recent comment of a friend of a friend (we all know how Facebook works) made me remember that story when he said, "Christ leaves the 90 and 9 and goes to find the one." It made so much sense. Christ cannot take the found with him en masse while He goes after the wanderer. He can't focus on His hunt for the one when He has to keep track of 99 others and keep them safe and on task. The good shepherd calls a few, trusted and chosen individuals to help Him do His work, but the rest of the sheep stay safe in the fold.
I think there are a lot of reasons for this. It could be dangerous to bring some of the sheep into some of the places. They could be prone to wandering themselves and need to stay away from areas of pasture so they don't become lost. Others could be new to the flock and need time to be with the herd to become accustomed to the ways of the shepherd. Some of the sheep could be sick or ailing and would not be able to keep up with a strenuous hunt over unstable conditions. While still others are lambs and far too young to be exposed to the elements. The biggest reason not everyone gets to come along on the search for the lost lamb, is that it is hard, so very hard, to find the lost in a crowd.
A good shepherd will, however, use his healthy sheep to help him. For example, if a lamb was lost, the shepherd would take the mother with him. The mother's bleats will call to her baby and if the baby is within hearing and capable, it will come running.
It's like this in our families. We would never take our small children into a dangerous situation to rescue their older sibling. We would leave them safely with someone we trust and go in to the fray, able to concentrate fully on the child that wandered. We would do all in our power to save the older while not exposing the younger to influences they would not be able to withstand.
It's like this within the church. In our wards, the bishop doesn't stand in front of the congregation, after the hymn but before the Sacrament, announce some one's wandering ways and ask everyone to take their part in the rescue. There is an order to it. The bishop confers with the ward auxiliaries, who then seek revelation for their lost lambs and sheep. Visiting and Home Teachers are called upon to help. Sometimes, only the bishop has the authority to go and get the sheep and bring them back. All of this is not to say that each and every one of us cannot heed the call of the still small voice and play a part in some one's rescue. We should be ever watchful for that-- but the still small voice will first go to those whose responsibility it is to care for His sheep.
It's like this with the church membership as a whole. If a group of saints decides to go contrary to the way the Lord would have His church led and directed, the rest of us are not invited to the conversation unless we have a specific stewardship. Christ does not bring the ninety-nine to look for the one. He goes and gets the one and brings them back to the fold. It is the best, most productive way to conduct a rescue and to ensure that all of His sheep return to Him.
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