That Not One Should Perish

   “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. 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? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
     ~Matthew 18:10-14 (ESV)

   Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
   Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
     ~John 20:24-29 (ESV)

As I was reading the above passage from Matthew recently,
I was struck by the final sentence (highlighted above in red). Looking back at that passage from the post-crucifixion, post-resurrection standpoint that we have, it was as though I could see Jesus holding out his nail-pierced hands, His thorn-scraped brow bearing witness and the stripes from the whip on His back underlining His words in scarlet as He said again, "See? It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish -- here is the proof." And in that proof  -- in Jesus Himself -- we see that the Father's will shall be done, whatever the cost He must pay, whatever the length He must go to. 

And thinking about that brought me to the passage where Jesus offers His wounds to "doubting" Thomas, as the proof of both His identity and His resurrection. I was struck by the incredible level of humility, His continual descent into our abysses of sin and weakness to rescue His little ones, displayed in this moment: He has already become incarnate, died on a cross, and been resurrected in power and believed on by most of His disciples -- and yet, even with His ascension to the right hand of the Father imminent, with all the universe continually upheld by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), having already descended to hell, torn its doors from their hinges, and born them away, Samson-like, on His back (Judges 16), still He is willing to stoop yet lower, to display yet more patience, to satisfy the somewhat arrogant demand of one stubborn sheep He is still not willing to lose: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe" -- because it is not the will of His Father that even one of these little ones should perish, and His whole purpose in coming is to do the Father's will (Hebrews 10), on earth as it is done in heaven.

So I wonder how often we consider this, and how seriously we take both the promise in Jesus' words and the obligation those words lay on us who would follow Him. Are we also unwilling that any of "these little ones" should perish, or are we content to live as though we are the only little ones that matter, that Christ's wounds were mainly for us and our closest church-friends or favorite people, forgetting the blood and scars and unfathomable humility and desire underlining His words about the shepherd and the lost sheep and His Father's will that none should perish. Does it break us, then, to see them perishing -- the little ones our beloved Lord was broken for? And in our lives, our witnessing, our hopes, our loving of others and giving of ourselves, in our patient waiting on God, in our prayers, how thoroughly do we really trust that He is able to make all His will done, on earth as it is in heaven?