IGNITE: DAY 24

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 24


Luke 15:4-6

Suppose one of you has a hundred
sheep and loses one of them. Does he
not leave the ninety-nine in the open
country and go after the lost sheep
until he finds it?

And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it
on his shoulders and goes home. Then
he calls his friends and neighbors together
and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found
my lost sheep." (NIV)




MEDITATION BY Dayna Cermak


I encountered Kami at a time in her life when her heart was at the depth of darkness. It was inconceivable to her that anyone—let alone God—could love her. She was living an alternative lifestyle, in an unhealthy relationship with a woman, and trying to numb her pain with drugs. The more I learned about her life, the more I desperately wanted her to know how worthy she was of being loved. Eventually, Kami and I became close friends. And then it happened—after pursuing her for 27 years, God captured Kami’s heart.

It was 3 a.m. and I had just spent an evening hanging out with Kami and her friends in Hollywood. We were upstairs talking, when someone began passing around instruments—tambourines, bongo drums, a djembe—and I ended up with the guitar. I had just learned how to play, and only knew one song—a worship song. I began to play it, and before long, I was playing and singing another worship song, and then another. For nearly an hour, I sang and played songs I didn’t even know…and Kami and her friends were eagerly playing along. I knew it was a holy moment, a divine hour.

After the music subsided, I sat on the bed in complete adoration and thanksgiving, trying to grasp what had just happened. Kami approached me hesitantly and said, “I have never felt anything like that before. I had no control of how I was feeling, but it was good. You will probably think I’m crazy if I say this...”

“Try me,” I replied. “Well,” Kami began, “When we were singing, it was if I had this big, bright light inside my soul.” “I don’t think that’s strange at all,” I said. “In fact I’m pretty sure the bright light inside your soul was God letting you know how much he loves you.”

Finally, Kami experienced God’s overwhelming love. She had spent her whole life running from him—wounded, wandering alone, and slowly dying inside. Little did she know that her Shepherd had left the 99 to chase after her. Just two hours earlier, she did not believe in God, and now we were talking about what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus.

Nobody is beyond being loved, no heart is too dark for his love to transform. Those of us who have received God’s extravagant love are challenged to be the bearers of his love to those who are lost.

In my life, it has been much easier to talk about God’s love than to really love others. It takes much courage to leave the safety of 99 and pursue the one. I would venture to say that in the eyes of our Rescuer, settling for 99 would grieve his heart. Kami still had a long road of healing ahead, but she can move forward in the knowledge that she is loved and has been transformed by the magnificent, steadfast love of her Redeemer.




REFLECTION


What keeps us from reaching out and genuinely loving the people in our lives, whether they are friends, family, or people we pass on the street?


Why are we so often afraid to love others in the deepness of their heart? What keeps us from building relationships and loving people who are very different from us?


Who in your life can you be praying for and reaching out to? Are you willing to risk leaving the 99 and go after the one?