JESUS SEEKS US OUT WHEN WE GO ASTRAY
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“Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he 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.'” – Luke 15:3-6 –
Jesus cares for us as a shepherd over his flock. For a shepherd loves his flock. Every sheep, every lamb, is of immeasurable value to him. He knows each individually, looking out for their best interests. Jesus our Shepherd loves, guides and protects us. He provides for our needs, preserves us from danger and keeps us ever close. And when we stray, He will search us out and rescue us.
What a tender-hearted picture of Jesus placing His lost sheep upon His shoulders and carrying it back to His sheepfold. He rejoices when we return to Him. The idea of Jesus leaving behind the ninety-nine to pursue the one who is lost may appear illogical or reckless… unless the one He is pursuing is you. This is a display of His relentless love for all who are His.
“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 15:6-7
Are you following Jesus, abiding in the Shepherd’s presence? Are you one of the ninety-nine living in His blessing, His ideal pastureland? Or have you strayed from the flock?
Jesus longs for us to stay near to Him. He draws us to Himself by His Spirit. He desires that we follow Him all our days. Yet at times we wander away from the flock.
Perhaps we are accidentally led astray… lured off His path… enticed by the world and its temptations. Or maybe we wander off. A wrong choice, a misguided judgment leads us away from the fold. Perhaps we decide to go it alone… seeking autonomy… doubting our Shepherd’s guidance… believing that the grass may be greener in another pasture.
Whatever causes us to be separated from our Shepherd, we are never lost to Him. The key is to recognize our “lostness”. When we realize that our straying has left us alone… isolated, adrift and vulnerable to the “wolves”, we may wonder if we are forever lost.
When our wayward ways separate us from our Shepherd, questions flood our minds. Will we be missed? Will He notice we are not with the flock? Or have we fallen through the cracks? Will He search for us… and rescue us from our wayward ways? Do we dare return after our wanderings to the One we unwisely abandoned?
“You’re the One who never leaves the one behind.” – “So Will I” — Hillsong UNITED
A shepherd understands each of his sheep… their personalities, their tendencies, their weaknesses. He knows the ones who may be curious to see the world… the ones who may stubbornly go their own way… the ones who may fall prey to temptation.
Jesus knows each of us personally as a shepherd. We do not surprise Him with our straying. For He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). He forever keeps His eye on us. He is cognizant of us in our times of lostness. He seeks us out when we stray. We can never roam so far that we cannot return to our Shepherd. He will always be there to welcome us… ready to joyfully carry us home once again to His sheepfold. And all heaven will rejoice!
† Eternal Takeaway – Jesus came to seek and to save the lost †
