People I Love…and Must Ignore

From Pastor Tim’s article in the 5/4/16 Weekly Update

I recently walked into a crowded room filled with people I knew and loved. We had gathered for a meal and as much as I was anticipating the good food that had been prepared I also was thoroughly looking forward to enjoying the fellowship of spending time with friends.

This made it odd when I walked right past several tables where my friends were seated and pulled up a chair at a table occupied by a sole individual I didn’t know at all. “Mind if I sit here?” I asked. He smiled and gestured that he would welcome the company.

The simple act of perceiving a person in need of a friend and joining him for a meal may not strike you as being worthy of a Nobel prize, however it required a great deal of fortitude to do what I did. My enjoyment of time with friends isn’t a casual thing for me. It’s the treat at the bottom of the box of Cracker Jacks. It’s the free game of mini-golf you win by hitting the ball into the clown’s nose. It’s the free dessert you get on your birthday. I love spending time with friends.

To make matters worse, not having had the chance to tell anyone what I was doing I was fearful of what they might think about me for ignoring their invitations and neglecting them for the sake of my new friend. I was ignoring the people I love to spend time with someone I didn’t.

I take comfort in the thought that Jesus did the same thing. He once told the story about the shepherd who had 100 sheep. When it turned out that one of them was missing He left the 99 to go and find the lost sheep. The lost sheep was more important than the 99 safe ones.

With the hectic pace of our lives there barely seems to be enough time for our friends who share our faith. To be asked to find additional time to spend with lost people borders on the absurd, but given the urgency of their lostness we’re forced to find an answer that works for everyone. Jesus supplies the answer; it is better to neglect a fellowship opportunity with a sheep in the fold than to miss out on a chance to rescue a lost one. The lost one motivated the shepherd to go after him and neglect the others (temporarily).

I’m learning to do two things as I reach the home stretch of my years of ministry. First, I’m learning that all too often I follow my comfort the way a caboose follows a train. It drives me to do what I do more often than I care to mention. Spending time with people I know is more comfortable than spending time with those I don’t. If comfort is king, that’s the end of the story. Second, in order for me to truly fulfill God’s plan for my life I’m going to need to prioritize opportunities to interact with lost people. It won’t “just” happen. I will need to seek out Holy Spirit created opportunities to eat, travel, talk and even walk with lost people.

In order to do that I will, to some extent, have to neglect people I love. I pray they understand and I pray they follow my lead. That way, I’ll know they understand.