Lost things

Listening this morning to a devotional on sheep I was driven to thinking about the fact that the first people that are recorded as visiting Jesus, when he was born, were shepherds.

My recollection is that shepherds were not in the high class of society, not well to do, not even regarded as working class even - they were the roughest of the rough and the toughest of the tough. Frequently smelly, often without other friends, they were almost social lepers because of how they made their living.

I remember when we lived in London, leading a large Salvation Army Church, we had a drop in morning on a Thursday when anyone could come and have a drink and a chat, watch some television, or simply stay warm. Our youngest son was not yet old enough to go to school and so he came along with us almost wherever we went. These men - and one or two wome - became his friends. Often they were estranged from their own families and so the presence of a child was something they rarely encountered. As he played with his toys and talked to them he had his own ministry of innocence to them.

After a couple of years, when he had started school, he was taken on a school visit when he had to walk with his class to the destination. Following the trip the school contacted us concerned because he talked to everyone and went out of line to speak to the 'tramps'. We told the school that we trusted them to keep him safe, as we had done, but that these people were his friends and we could no more discourage him from talking to them than we could stop him playing football in the playground with his playmates (ironically the school managed to prevent the latter in due course!).

In a child's innocence is repeated the action of the Messiah. The lost, the last, the least and the lonely are welcome - in fact they are sought after by angels to come and worship.

As I #adventwonder this morning I can't help but think that I may have not been as intentional in seeking the lost as I could have been.