STRAYING SHEEP – SEEKING SHEPHERD!

Sunday, February 23, 2020

STRAYING SHEEP – SEEKING SHEPHERD!

Matt 18:12-14

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

           Man often thinks of himself as a wise investigator and curator or right ways. The opposite is actually true. Man seeks out the ways of pleasure whether they are right or wrong. There is a hunger and thirst for un-righteousness that is subtle and autochthonous.

           We are not seekers. We are sought! Pushing our noses toward pleasant things, we have lost the awareness of our surroundings. We find ourselves far from the flock and the shepherd. It is in this lost and lonely state that we become seekers.

           In counting, perhaps at the end of day, the Shepherd discovers us missing. His love for us instantly becomes intense and our value increases as He feels our loss. Leaving the 99 safely in the fold, He begins to search for us. When He finds us He may scold us while embracing us. We hear the well-earned scolding, but it is the embrace that calms us.

1 Peter 2:25

25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Dear Lord, I did not return but I have been returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of my soul. I was lost. Thank you for finding me. Scold me if you must and I will listen but it is your embrace that makes me feel safe. AMEN