What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Matthew 18:12-14
Jesus told a simple story: a shepherd has one hundred sheep. One wanders off. Instead of being satisfied with ninety-nine, the shepherd goes searching for the one. And when he finds it, he rejoices.
That’s how God looks at people. “In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish” (Matthew 18:14). No one is written off. No one is expendable.
This parable shows us what church life should feel like. We notice when someone is missing. We care enough to check in. We do not assume the worst or sit back and hope they’ll fix themselves. We go after them with compassion.
And that same principle applies when problems or disagreements arise. Currently, many conversations within the church about grace and building bridges of unity are characterized by judgment, labels, and assumptions. But Jesus calls us to something better. When someone says, writes, or teaches something we don’t understand or agree with, our first responsibility is to communicate and clarify. We love our brother. We seek to understand. We listen carefully. We don’t rush to judge. We don’t push to pin labels on each other.
This should be the natural thing to do—especially among those who have shared good relationships in the past. The claim that “because something was written publicly, I don’t need to ask for clarification” goes directly against the spirit of what Jesus teaches. Brothers and sisters who care for one another do not leap to conclusions—they reach out, they ask, they pursue peace. “Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval. So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another” (Romans 14:18-19).
Sadly, there is plenty of communication going on—but often it’s just among those who have set themselves up as gatekeepers. Email chains are circulating. Phones are being worked. This becomes obvious when the same talking points are repeated and the exact keywords appear in their articles. It feels coordinated, as if they are all speaking from the same script. The tragedy is that they are talking to each other, but not to those with whom they disagree. That is not the way of the Shepherd.
As we turn our focus back to Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew 18, many who drift feel unheard. Sometimes they leave because no one stopped to ask what they meant or how they felt. If we want to reflect the Shepherd’s heart, we must slow down, ask real questions, and show that their story matters. “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19). Everyone has a story.
And when a wandering brother or sister returns, we don’t keep a record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5). We rejoice. We celebrate what God has done. “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance” (Luke 15:7).
A church that shares the Shepherd’s heart is a church where people know they will be sought after, listened to, and welcomed home. That’s the kind of church where grace is not just taught—it’s lived.
