In Luke 15 the Pharisees and teachers of religious law where complaining about Jesus associating with tax collectors as well as other sinful people. In response to this Jesus shared a couple of stories. He said,
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
It’s interesting that in both cases the person searched for what was lost. The man who lost a sheep left the ninety nine in search of the one that got away. The man didn’t know where the sheep went, so he had to look for it. The woman lost a silver coin, so she lit a lamp searched all over the house until she found it.
Here is what I am getting at, our gifts are a solution to a problem and a fulfillment to a need. When you discover what problems you are equipped to solve you discover who your people are. They are the ones with the problem that you solve. If you are having a hard time finding your people it could be because they are not where you normally go. The sheep that was lost was not where the other ninety nine were. Which is why the man left. The missing coin was not where the other nine where. Which is why she left them in search for the one.
If you can’t find your people where you normally go, it’s time to go beyond what is normal. The man left the ninety nine sheep not because they were less valuable than the one, but because they are all valuable. That’s why it is worth the search!