Set your face towards the lost sheep of Israel
by Pastor Tim Castle-Schmidt
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But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6).
When God calls, we are in a privileged place to be invited into God’s mission. Sometimes that takes us along smooth paths, but more often, we get called to roads we neither expect nor might choose. That’s certainly been my experience.
And when God calls, he typically sets our faces towards the lost. Indeed, if we are honest with ourselves, we are all lost (and so terribly lost!), and until we acknowledge that, we cannot be found.
Jesus came, remember, to seek the lost.
And so, as soon as we can recognise that we are as lost as the next person, the sooner we can know that God is actively seeking us. But God never leaves us where he finds us. Whether that is to a new station in life, a new town or country, or a new mindset, God leads us to a new place.
We, the lost, are found and then sent with a new call on our lives. That may be a call to see things differently in our own backyard or a whole new backyard. Either way, we are called to set our faces towards the lost.
Lord Jesus, you set your face towards us because we were lost and then call us to seek the lost sheep of Israel. Help me acknowledge my own lostness so that you can truly find me, and then give me eyes to see the lost ones you lead me to. Amen.
Tim Castle-Schmidt is the pastor of Onkaparinga Lutheran Parish in the Adelaide Hills. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he says he finally listened to God’s call to pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, daughter Miranda, a Jack Russell called Otto and 10 chooks.
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