One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jesus telling about a lost sheep. “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not 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 15:4-7)
We have all wandered off from God like sheep. We can wander off by saying and doing things that are wrong, that are hurtful to ourselves or to others. With positive activities such as family, work, exercise, or church, if God is not in our lives, we have wandered off. We may have even walked away from God because we want to be independent of Him. But just like God made us to breathe and eat, He made us to know Him. If we don’t breathe or eat, or are separated from God then we are dead, either physically or spiritually.
One of the things I like about this story is it shows God’s heart. He doesn’t just let us wander off from Him and complain about us or look for an opportunity to lecture or punish us. God wants us to know Him and go through each day with Him. He wants us close to Him. Of course, God doesn’t need to search for us like the shepherd. He knows exactly where we have wandered off to. He searches for us…chases after us by showing us that we are separated from Him and showing us He loves us. Because He loves us, Jesus died for us and came back to life so that the wrong things we have done can be forgiven. If we believe in this and commit ourselves to follow what He teaches (not the wrong things we have been doing) we can know God and become His children; no longer separated from Him.
It’s nice to know that God loves the world; that He loves everyone. What I like about this story is it’s about one individual sheep, one person. God loves us individually. God loves me, and you, as individuals, not only as part of the world. He knows our personality, strengths and weaknesses, what makes us laugh or cry, the choices we have made, our regrets. He knows it all and loves us right now. If we are separated from Him He is coming after us. When the shepherd found the sheep, the one individual sheep, “he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents…” When God finds us (or more correctly, when He lets us find Him) He is joyful. And, angels in heaven who we can’t even see rejoice when we are found by the Shepherd and change our lives from the wrong things we used to do.
This story reminds me of how God came after me. I had wandered off. I was lost. I knew I was separated from God and had no idea how to get back. God put people in my life who told me about their relationship with Christ. He put people in my life who challenged me to read what the Bible says about Jesus. He put someone in my life to guide me to pray to Jesus and give my life to Him. God came after me. If you don’t belong to God yet, then He’s coming after you too, because He loves you and wants you to know His love. And if you let yourself be “found,” then God will be joyful and there will be rejoicing in heaven.
Father, thank you that you chased after me and let me find you. Thank you that you chase after each of us individually. Thank you, Jesus, that you died for us because you love us so much and long to rejoice in our knowing you. Amen.
Related Posts
