“Then Jesus told them this parable: “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? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 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 15:3-7
My early years growing up were spent on a farm in Seward County, and my parents had Holstein cows that needs to be milked twice daily. My sister and me didn’t get to go on vacation very often. I had read Bible stories about sheep and was glad we had cows. My dad would yell a few words at the cows that were grazing in the pasture and they would come single file, walking to the barn when it was time to give milk. I could easily see the difference between herding cows and sheep. In my mind, herding sheep was more like herding stubborn people.
Ever get that feeling when the ‘shepherds’ of this fallen world tell you what to wear, drive, eat and who to vote for, that you are not really that important or able to think for yourself? You are not that important; the ‘shepherds’ of this world are the important ones. When they have the 99 who strayed back in their pen, well, that is good enough. They can do without you. No one really notices, needs, or cares about you. After all, how important can one be among so many.
Thankfully, our Good Shepherd offers each of us a life-transforming perspective to assure us, and these kids from Haiti, just how valuable each of us are to Him. We get lost; He finds us. We get into trouble; He comes to our rescue. The next time you begin feeling like you are unnoticed and unworthy, or struggling to believe how significant your contributions are to God, remember the above passages; you are worth more to God than you can possibly imagine. Every individual, including you, is of immense worth to Him. I grew up around cows but have learned how much I resemble a sheep. We all do and thankfully, we have Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay