A Disciple's Journal (1)

THE SEARCH FOR THE BROKEN SOULS

Our master once said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Jesus intruded into this broken world only with a mission in mind: to search for the broken souls and minister to their needs. Even when he was moving from one village to another, he would always stop along the journey to attend to the needs of the broken souls.

Although he knew that he would be criticized heavily by the counterparts of his day, although he knew that his reputation would be affected, he chose to spend much of his time with the outcasts of the society (e.g. prostitutes, tax collectors and lepers etc.), for they were "the sick", they were the broken souls whose needs were unattended to. Jesus came not only to proclaim the good news, more importantly, he came to live the good news - to minister and restore the broken souls.

As a disciple of Christ, I cannot remain comfortable staying within the four walls of the church, nor can I feel satisfied ministering to the Christian community alone. I need to go out to the world to search for the broken souls, to live among them and minister to their needs. Yet, the cost is very high. My safety is at stake: When I come across a person with AIDS, will I dare to approach him as what Jesus did with a leper? My reputation is at stake: Will I dare to minister to a prostitute as what Jesus did without fearing that my reputation and image may be affected?

If a person wants to follow Christ, he can no longer cling on to everything that he has - life, safety, time, reputation and money etc., for it is only when he has no attachment towards these things that he can offer himself totally to the mission of Christ.