Lost But Found
“Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “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 15:1-7 NLT
This is one of the most familiar scriptures; but as I was preparing for Easter this year, I kept being drawn back to it over and over again. As I began digging into it a little more than I have in the past, I discovered some things about sheep in my research that I didn’t know. One of those is sad, disturbing, and funny all at the same time!
Did you know that sheep will literally wander away from the herd while they “bah, bah, bah” their little heads off?
They will wander away from what they are trying to find.
They will wander away trying to find what they already have.
Brings the term “lost sheep” into a whole new light. That’s a picture of me. So often, I wander away from God looking for something better, or I wander away trying to find myself instead of staying close to Him.
Last week, I came across a quote that struck me to the core:
“We are all born looking for someone looking for us.” - Curt Thompson
If that isn’t the Gospel, I don’t know what it is. We were born with independence coursing through our veins, yet we also possessed a longing for someone to look for us, notice when we are missing, notice when we are lost.
One of my favorite songs we sing is a song called “Defender.” One of the lyrics in that song is “when I thought I lost me, you knew where I left me.”
What a statement.
I would suggest that, during our journey, we allow the great Shepherd to find us, rather than constantly searching for ourselves or even for Him.
This is true of salvation, but the beauty of what I’m discovering is that it doesn’t stop there. He also finds the missing parts of me, those that I thought were lost forever or those that I didn’t even know were lost to begin with.
My Defender. My Shepherd. My Jesus. The One who looks for me.
This is one of the most familiar scriptures; but as I was preparing for Easter this year, I kept being drawn back to it over and over again. As I began digging into it a little more than I have in the past, I discovered some things about sheep in my research that I didn’t know. One of those is sad, disturbing, and funny all at the same time!
Did you know that sheep will literally wander away from the herd while they “bah, bah, bah” their little heads off?
They will wander away from what they are trying to find.
They will wander away trying to find what they already have.
Brings the term “lost sheep” into a whole new light. That’s a picture of me. So often, I wander away from God looking for something better, or I wander away trying to find myself instead of staying close to Him.
Last week, I came across a quote that struck me to the core:
“We are all born looking for someone looking for us.” - Curt Thompson
If that isn’t the Gospel, I don’t know what it is. We were born with independence coursing through our veins, yet we also possessed a longing for someone to look for us, notice when we are missing, notice when we are lost.
One of my favorite songs we sing is a song called “Defender.” One of the lyrics in that song is “when I thought I lost me, you knew where I left me.”
What a statement.
I would suggest that, during our journey, we allow the great Shepherd to find us, rather than constantly searching for ourselves or even for Him.
This is true of salvation, but the beauty of what I’m discovering is that it doesn’t stop there. He also finds the missing parts of me, those that I thought were lost forever or those that I didn’t even know were lost to begin with.
My Defender. My Shepherd. My Jesus. The One who looks for me.
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1 Comment
Good insight & thought provoking, thanks!