Never Lost
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:1-7 NIV)
One of my all time favorite parables found in the Bible is The Lost Sheep. This parable focuses on God’s love for us and His willingness to leave behind the rest of his sheep in order to find us and bring us back to the herd. Furthermore, it highlights how valuable we are in God’s eyes.
The beginning of this story starts with the Pharisees complaining because Jesus was spending time with sinners. They couldn’t comprehend how someone who is supposed to be pure and clean could be spending all his time with the dirtiest of people. They had a reasonable argument, would you spend time with people who are sick? Most likely not, so you won’t catch the same sickness. But Jesus has a different perspective. In Luke 5:31 he says that the reason he spends time with sinners is because they are the people that need him the most. What an amazing God we have, to want to spend time with us even in our most broken moments; and to use that time to restore and fix us. Now if that doesn’t make you want to give thanks to God, I don’t know what will. Meditate on that for just a second, God wants to restore you; the question is do you want him to restore you?
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”(Luke 5:31-32 NIV)
One thing to focus on with any story is who it’s meant for. The main audience for this parable are those who were once a part of the herd. In other words, those who once were a part of a church but due to circumstances, are now in a “lost state”. Maybe you are in that same boat; maybe you are that one in ninety-nine sheep that can’t find its way back to the herd. Thankfully, the story didn’t end with the lost sheep staying lost, your story also won’t end staying lost. At the end of verse 4 Jesus says “he looks until he finds it.” He never gives himself a limit of distance or time; he doesn’t say “he looks 10 miles out” or “he looks for a week.” By Jesus saying “until he finds it” He’s saying that it doesn’t matter how far that sheep is, He is going to find it. No matter how far you think you are, you are never that far from God. Let me rephrase that, it doesn’t matter what battle you are currently facing, it doesn’t matter how deep in sin you currently are, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to a church in years; the only thing that matters to God, is you. He hasn’t stopped looking for you, and he’s not going to until he brings you back.
Never forget that God still loves you and still sees value in you. It’s not too late to go back to your Father.
