Day 40

The Lost Sheep

Matt 18:11-14

“And I, the Messiah, came to came the lost. If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? And if he finds it, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety- nine others safe at home! Just so, it is not my Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

It is not easy to look out of our own painful circumstance; to emphasize with the heartache of others. There began to surface an obvious need for someone to pray and support many around me who were dealing with prodigals, several of my friends and I began to meet together to share and pray for our prodigals with such a sense of connection. We felt that the Lord took us to our key passage about the lost sheep.

The story talks about the Shepherd leaving the ninety-nine who are in the fold and going to find the one lost. Normally you would think, well the Shepherd needs to stay with the larger group, but no, Jesus chose to leave the ninety- nine and search for the one that was lost. It is not often the concept that most church leaders adopt, unfortunately. Parents have shared with me often that was their experience also.

In my office is a picture that has been there for years of Jesus reaching over the ledge for the fallen sheep who is helpless. Also, in the picture there is an eagle soaring high above.

My prayer was always that our lost sheep would be rescued and one day soar like the eagle. Is that your hope today, to see your son or daughter rescued by someone like the shepherd as the picture portrays? Someone to draw them into their circle of Christian friends? Someone who accepts them just as they are? Someone to love them and help pick them up and bandage their wounds and carry them to safety, Someone with the heart of a Shepherd.