Luke 15:4

New International Version

“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?”

For Meditation

 Ninety-nine sheep are safe in the sheep pen, but He is not content. He has one hundred sheep, and every one of them he must account for before he closes the gate (Luke 15:1-7). The one lost sheep is too dear to his heart to leave out there in the wilderness. The numbers don’t matter. None misses his keen eyes. He knows each one by name and takes a roll call before they go out to the flock and when they come back home. He is never content until Kofi, Wambua, Aisha, Alejandro, Sam, Aiko, Li, and Sergei are home and safe.

Imagine Him combing the streets, alleys, highways, and byways, searching for the lost soul. The ninety-nine can wait while He goes after Sergei in faraway Vladivostok and brings him into the fold.

Feel the joy in his heart when he finds him. Only his shoulder is comfortable and safe enough to carry him back home. Hear Him singing and rejoicing. The Shepherd has found the lost sheep and is bringing him home. The only appropriate response is a feast to welcome him back home. Heaven has been waiting for this moment with its orchestra, and now the Celestial choir joins the Hallelujah chorus (5-7).

You, my friend, are Sergei. Maybe you have forgotten what had trapped you in the rocky places, fearful you may never make it back home. It is possible you didn’t even know how dead you were and the hellhole that was waiting to swallow you, so you cannot appreciate what it took for the Good Shepherd to resurrect you.

However, you know the full story now. Gethsemane was too dark and the cross too cruel to miss in the narrative. The rescue took your Savior to the rockiest, most dangerous, and loneliest places, yet He never gave up on you. For the joy set before Christ Jesus, He endured the cruelty, shame, and pain of the cross to save you (Heb. 12:2). How will He not, with the same passion, keep you safe until He comes for you?

Appreciate Jesus with humility and gratitude every day. Do not keep any part of your heart from Him. Give Him praise everywhere and worship Him with all that you have; for He is worthy.