We can become very self-absorbed. Be focused on self and not on others. Look to make ourselves feel good and be happy at the expense or neglect of those around us. Jesus tells the parable in Luke 15 of the shepherd who owns 100 sheep and loses just one of them. He drops everything and goes out to find that one. Once that one is found, the party begins! Friends and neighbors join the celebration for that one sheep that was lost but is now found. The party is not for the other 99 that didn't wander away and get lost...NO...it is for the one that was lost.
Our greatest effort should be to impact the lives of others. We spend so much of our time throwing a party for the already found, when we should be out and seeking those that have wandered away and are lost. Bill Hybels, in his little book, "When Leadership and Discipleship Collide" says this, "What we work for in ministry leadership is the single most important endeavor on planet Earth - the building of the kingdom of God. The potential of this kingdom is greater than any other, and the stakes involved in realizing it are higher. When we get it right, and especially when we don't, we impact people's eternities (emphasis mine)."
WOW...I had to stop after reading that and put the book down...in the quiet of that moment, I had to ask myself...is what I am doing really impacting someone's eternity...really helping them toward the kingdom of God?
What a sobering thought for us all.
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