For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. – Luke 19:10
Luke 15:4-6
4 “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?”
5 “And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.”
6 “When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’”
I ran into one of my friends the other day. She was wearing a lanyard around her neck with her cell phone on it and a little sign that said, “I’m a loser.” In order not to misplace her cell phone she kept it on the lanyard. It seems that are we always misplacing or losing stuff: car keys, credit cardholders, our cell phones, even various pieces of clothing such as caps and coats. But in our modern technological world, there is an answer.
Enter the digital world of “Find Tiles.” Little flat tiles are used to tag things that always seem to be running off and hiding from us. They can be attached to or hidden in your cell phone, keys, credit cardholder, a purse, even a loved one or pet. They are battery-operated and send out a signal. To find what is missing and tagged with a “Find Tile,” simply ask Alexa or Google, or use a computer or cell phone.
The Father has a similar tracking system. In eternity past, each of His sheep was lovingly and individually named and tagged.
Isaiah 49:16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
This obvious anthropomorphism is intended to illustrate that the Father, not only knows our names but has “written” them on the palms of His hands. It is intentionally graphic and intended to demonstrate that the Father will never forget us.
We are all born into this life lost. The Good Shepherd seeks His own until they are found and He calls them to Himself.
A good shepherd is willing to go to any length to find, care for, and protect his sheep. In the first century A.D., each shepherd would have a distinctive call that only his sheep knew. When his sheep heard his call, they would come to him. Other sheep would not.
When shepherds wanted to go into a town or village, they would place their sheep in a common fold with other sheep. To retrieve his sheep from the flock, the shepherd had only to make his distinctive call. Only his sheep would come forward to him, the rest would stay in the flock.
John 10:2-5
2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.
5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
This is the back story of a remarkable and beautiful promise that the Lord Jesus Christ made.
John 10:27-29
27 My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, and
29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. In an
What is the call of the Good Shepherd? It is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. When His sheep hear the gospel, it has a deep impact and they are drawn to the message. Ultimately, they come to Him and are given eternal life
It is wonderful to know and remember, because of the Father’s great love for us, the Lord Jesus Christ never stops looking until we are found. He will pursue us until He “finds” us.
REFLECT & PRAY
The Father and the Son will always pursue those that belong to them until they are found.
Father I readily acknowledge that once I was lost, a very lost sheep. One day I heard Your voice calling me and I came to You. But sadly, even now I tend to wander off. And again, and again You come looking for me, swoop be up in Your loving arms and bring me home.
INSIGHT
When the Father created sheep, it may well have been right after He created owls. Perhaps the wisdom jug and was a bit depleted. Apparently, sheep got the leftovers. Although some modern research challenges this idea. In general, those who take care of sheep and find them to be, “not just stupid but mind-numbingly stupid.”
Even though we have come to the Good Shepherd and have been given eternal life as our present possession, never to be lost, we still have the temperament of sheep. We tend to wander off. In the words of Robert Robinson, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love” (1757).
Isaiah 53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path,
We are continuously in desperate need of a shepherd to care for us, protect us, and find us when we wander off. The Father is our loving Shepherd. When we stray, we can be certain He will come looking for us. When He finds us, He is excited and joyful. He tells everyone, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (Luke 15:6)
Each time the Father finds us, He offers us a new beginning.
Many would say that the best part of the journey, is not the places we go and see, but rather returning home. There is a poignant, pleasant joy to being where we belong, that is, being home.
For the children of the King, heaven is their permanent home. Although we have never been there, we know He has prepared a place for us. It is a place of joy and gladness. It is a happy place. It is the ultimate safe place. And we will dwell there forever our loving Shepherd King.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Dr H Reflections 