Once I was lost
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! Luke 15:4-7
In Psalm 23:1, the Psalmist described the Lord as Shepherd. In John 10, John described the Lord Jesus Christ as the Shepherd. “The sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:3-4). From the parable in the text, it gives God joy to find those who are lost and in need of salvation. The devil will always try to stop the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd to reach those that are lost. In fact, the devil’s purpose is to steal and destroy life. “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). His purpose is to torment and make life miserable especially to those that will not respond to the Shepherd. But he will not succeed stopping Jesus. He came to seek and to save those that are lost (see Luke 19:10). The Lord Jesus Christ will be persistent seeking the one sheep that was lost. God is patient in His pursuit and at times man’s stubbornness makes the pursuit difficult. But God is patient and loving. He knows us very well that He lets the events and circumstances of our lives to cause us turn to seek Him. The crisis in our lives will hopefully lead us to seek out the strength we need to overcome and that the only One we can reach out in faith is the Lord Himself. Once you stop and let Him find you, He will carry you in His shoulders (Luke 15:5). It does not matter where you were; all He wants from you is to repent. His desire is to bring you in His arms and to forgive you of your past. Once you respond to Him in faith, it will bring about joy and celebration in heaven. “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep” (Luke 15:6). Start the celebration today by coming to Him.
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
