Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “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? 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.’ 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. (Luke 15:1-7)
Notice that the way Jesus went after lost sheep was not to try to draw them to an evangelistic event or even to give them a “plan of salvation” but to welcome them and to eat with them. A welcome is not a true welcome if it has conditions, “you are welcome here… if.” A true welcome says to someone who is in sin, “you are welcome with no conditions.” My new wineskin will be known as a welcoming people who will make everyone feel at home and trust God to make the changes that need to be made. To eat with “sinners” is to treat them as equals and to seek to build a relationship with them while they are still locked in their sin. Most people don’t have the strength to turn to me without the help of a true and loyal friend. Going after the lost sheep is more important in heaven than ministering to the ninety-nine in the open country. Heaven does not rejoice in mega-churches nearly as much as it rejoices over one sinner who repents.
— November 2, 2020