Party for One

“So he told them this parable:  ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”    Luke 15:1-7

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There’s a thing that happens when you truly follow Jesus…I mean when you actually choose Him, choose His ways and His heart and His word, you look up one day and find yourself smack dab in the middle of something that looks SO MUCH LIKE HIM.

It’s not you.  You’re not the super hero.

All you’ve done is choose Him…and sometimes you have failed at even that.  But the daily choosing of Him begins to change your desires, your decisions, your actions, your dreams and your hopes.

When Jesus moves into the neighborhood and takes residence in His heart…He does much more than transform YOUR heart and YOUR circumstances.  He begins to shape and mold, push and prod you into the direction of the broken.

A hunger for Him translates into a hunger for people.  It’s just natural.  It is the equation.

Our freedom directly translates into someone else’s….that’s the way God’s love, through His Son, works.

I am humbled beyond belief that Jesus chose our family to model Himself.

As we carried our lost little one on our shoulders right into the fold of our tribe, celebrating and cheering, I realized that Jesus is actually real, that He had in fact called us to leave the many to find the one.  And as we heard the cheers of our people, His word came to life before us.  We saw that His Spirit will work out His character in our lives if we let Him.

The Hammett’s are not special.  We are not more called than the next person.  We are weak, tired, broken individuals.  We mess up, we fail each other and we struggle.

But we have become addicted to saying YES to Jesus.  We have seen that saying YES to Him overrides our weakness and gives us the ability to be a part of things we have not earned the right to be present for.  We have learned the rhythm of risk that comes with being like Him.  We are pleased to be His vessels…cracked and imperfect.

We have learned that the best way to truly understand the character and nature of God is to do something He would do, the way to actually wrap our hearts around the truths of scripture…is TO DO THE THINGS WE READ.

Don’t be fooled that the 99 righteous ones are where you need to set up shop, where you need to spend your days.

Leave the 99 and chase after the one.

Bring that one back on your shoulders, carrying them the whole way…fighting for their right to be in the fold of the greatest Shephard.  You will be tired, bruised and battered because of the fight you had to fight to get them back….but this is the tired you were created for.

Gather all your people, your tribe, and celebrate as you return back.

Teach others to celebrate that one.  Teach them to risk it all for the one that’s gone astray.

This is Jesus.

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Shout out to our tribe:

There is one thing that has changed me forever, and that is the people that God so graciously has surrounded us with.  We have people who champion our family in ways that give so much life and hope.  We have mamas (Jeannie and Vallie) that are warriors for our daughters, who cook and clean and sit up all night with us as we cry and our new one screams.  We have sisters who bring gifts and start meal trains and learn how to make our daughter’s favorite orphanage dish for comfort.  We have friends who bring gifts, come and sit and give us conversation and laughter and who have made a point to give BOTH of our littles the love and affection they need!

Our friends look like the face of Jesus to us.  We have felt the shade of His mercy standing shoulder to shoulder with them.

Want to know what the body of Jesus looks like?  Come spend some time with our people.