10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
When I was in youth ministry, my colleagues and I would often talk about the challenge and the commission of loving the hard to love kid. This was the kid who just would or could not sit still, be quiet, listen, respect authority, be where they were told to be, stop ridiculing others, or grow up.
I had several talks with Jesus about the hard to love kid. I expressed my concerns, told him my frustrations, presented some very solid examples, and asked Him to do something about it.
Jesus kept nodding his head while I talked and when I finished he said, "Boy, I hear what you're saying and, like you, I too am really concerned that I could have appointed a shepherd who doesn't have a heart for all the sheep. I promise I will have a talk with my Father about you."
"Never mind," I said, "I'm sure I can work through it."
"I bet you can," he said. "But please let me know if you can't."
That was the first and last time I complained to Jesus about a hard to love kid.
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