Before our children grew up, we holidayed in Cornwall early in the year and stayed in a lovely rented cottage on a farm close to some lovely places to visit. But one of the nicest surprises we had was that lambing season had just started on the farm and the farmer invited us to take our children to see the new-born lambs. Some needed bottle feeding and he asked if the children would like to help, which of course they did.

So, each of the four children (well our three children, and Sue) were given a bottle of milk and a baby lamb.  It was a wonderful experience and great fun. Boy, those lambs can really suck! You can almost feel the bottle being pulled from your hands, and you can certainly hear them enjoying the milk. This wonderful experience added to, the already wonderful, holiday we had that year. Tempted as we were, we did not take any of the lambs home with us. Not one of them was missing when we had finished.

The Bible speaks a lot about sheep - especially those that go missing and Jesus spoke the following a parable in Luke 15:3-7:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

God Himself is the Great Shepherd, and we are all like sheep. We often stray or get lost or become separated from the Shepherd.

In the parable from the 100 sheep, one of them refused to follow the shepherd’s lead, it strayed away and did not obey the shepherd. But was the shepherd’s reaction to that? Was he cross that they were disobedient? Did he say – “Well, that one will have to look after himself?”  No. He secured the ninety-nine and went to look for the one lost sheep. The shepherd took it upon himself to go and look for the one that deliberately or carelessly strayed. That one lost sheep meant so much to him that he could not go another moment without it.

He still had ninety-nine, that remained. He could have just carried on without it. After all, it was the sheep’s own fault that it had become lost and separated from the shepherd. No fault of the shepherd. But the shepherd could not bear to lose any.

Can we perhaps see ourselves in this parable?  Those who might have strayed away from God - our Great Shepherd? Or maybe we made a deliberate decision not to follow Him?

Well, God, like the shepherd in the parable will not just forsake us or give us over to our own unwise choices or decisions, because He cares so much for each one of us. He loves every one of us.

The Great Shepherd will never scorn or condemn us for having separated ourselves from Him, but neither will He stop searching for us, and He continues to hope to restore each one of us to His fold.

Wandered carelessly away?

He will find you if you call on Him.

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