One-minute read.
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Matthew 18:12-14
God loves everyone; He doesn’t want any of His flock to go astray. When we wander off the narrow path, the Lord comes looking for us, drawing us back into the fold. Rejoicing over the return of the one who went astray, the Shepherd loves each sheep, not wanting any to perish.
As a child, I placed my faith in Christ, but as a young adult, I turned from Him, living for myself. Looking back, I see that even though I left Him, the Lord never left me. With love and kindness, the Shepherd steered me back into the fold, never once losing sight of me.
We have an enemy who prowls around like a lion, trying to pick off the Lord’s sheep from His flock. By distracting and deceiving us, we can unintentionally head down the wrong path. But the devil doesn’t win; God quickly thwarts his ploys. As the Lord did with me, He gently steers us back onto the path of righteousness with love and tenderness, not letting the enemy get a foothold in our lives.
Jesus finds us and returns us to Him when we lose our way. We go astray, but the Shepherd doesn’t let us get lost. Instead, the Lord finds us and returns us to the flock, rejoicing with our return. God doesn’t want any to perish and all to find eternal life through Christ.
Application:
God finds us and brings us back to Him.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for shepherding us and not letting us go astray. Please help us stay on the straight and narrow, not leaving the path You have for us. Let us follow You closely.
IJNIP. Amen
