Parable of the Lost Sheep- Have we been actively seeking out lost sheep?

Luke 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

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The past few days had been pretty restful for me. Staying at home in my tiny room, taking my cough medicine, getting drowsy, taking intermittent naps, going to my bro's room to play the guitar and sing (he sings, I play), and i'm so glad that God has given me more time to reflect and read His word. oooh, the slow pace of life. I'm quite touched by my parents and my friends' concerns and prayers. One even gave me a long sms with advice from his uncle and staffworker on using a lime-concentrate remedy for the throat.

Perhaps being sick was a blessing in disguise. If I werent sick, I'd probably be joining my friends in outings, spending more money, and having fun. Though I missed out on company, nothing beats the company of Him by your side watching over you as you spend more time dwelling in His word.

The parable of the lost sheep was in top priority of the things I had to read and reflect upon. As mentioned in a previous post, my friend in my cg has been moving further away from God. When he shared with me about how he felt his church cell was doing too much ministry work and not focusing on personal edification and spiritual growth, it got me thinking- what should be the focus? Should there be a balance of both?

I was quite humbled by what he told me, because it served as a wake-up call for me, to be more aware of the stray sheep among our midst. What he shared about his church cell also got me thinking, is C-F doing too much ministry work and outreach activities that we are dangerously neglecting another important aspect of CG, that of pastoral growth? How well do I know my cgms? Honestly, its quite sad to say that since the new batch of freshies came in, I have interacted much with those who were regular comers, but have not made a conscious effort to 'seek' and know those who have not been coming better, as a sister-in-Christ, and as a friend.

This prompted me to pore through my Bible for any biblical answers and thus my desire to reflect upon the Parable of the Lost Sheep deeper. In verse 7, there is "more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent". Have we been too comfortable hanging out with the people we want to be with, and have forgotten about those who are in greater need for company?

As shown in the parable, and other parables, Jesus has always been in the pursuit of lost souls, actively seeking out and initiating conversations with them. When Zachaeus was up in the tree, Jesus was the one who initiates the convo, asking him what he was doing up there and making a self-invitation to his house for tea.

While I have been praying every day for my freshie to rekindle his first love for God, I feel quite helpless with the situation. All I could do really is to pray. It has been a burden and I really hope that one day God will jostle his heart and he will return to Him. A huge part of me felt like arranging for a proper meet-up with this freshie so that I can talk to him, share with him and pray with/for him, but what is lacking is Courage. If he was a girl, I don't think it be much of a problem. But relating to a male about something like this is hard for a female like myself. God, give me the courage and help me not to fear.:(