Connected in The Word 9-9-25
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Luke 15:6
There are times when I know I’m lost. There are times when I don’t have a clue that I’m lost. There are occasionally times when I know I am lost, but I just don’t care. There are times when I know the depth of my sin. There are times when I don’t have a clue about my sin. There are occasionally times when I know my sin, but I just don’t care. In Luke 15 there was a lost coin, and I don’t think the coin had a clue it was lost. There was a lost son, and I think he figured out eventually that he was lost. But there was also a lost sheep, and I wonder if that sheep knew he was lost and just didn’t care.
I know I am picking on the lost sheep and should probably cut it some slack. But here’s the point – Even in the times when we are lost in our sin and just don’t care, our Good Shepherd still comes after us! It’s so easy to paint this sheep as an innocent little lamb that was maybe a little slower than the rest of the flock and just got left behind. Or maybe this carefree little one just got caught up chasing a butterfly in the meadow and now found itself lost in a deep dark scary forest desperately looking for help. I don’t think that’s a helpful way to think about that sheep. We don’t get lost in our sin “chasing butterflies” as we innocently run through the meadow. We are not innocent, we are not cute, and we definitely don’t get left behind by the flock or the Good Shepherd.
We are rebellious, obnoxious, and sinful ugly sheep with a bad attitude. We run to the deep dark forest because it looks really good, and because there – We can hide all our sin. We don’t like where the Good Shepherd is leading, and we don’t like sharing the green pastures with all the other sheep. But here is the Gospel – The Good Shepherd goes after those sheep. The Good Shepherd laid down His life for those sheep. The Good Shepherd throws a party when He finds those sheep and draws them back into the flock! When I get lost and like it – My Good Shepherd still comes after me!
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