Good Morning Friends,
One of God’s favorite metaphors in the Bible is that of a shepherd. All throughout the story of Scripture, the importance of leading the flock is threaded though the message. Abel kept flocks. Abraham amassed an enormous number of sheep and goats. Moses and David were the two central leaders of the Old Testament, and both were trained for leadership in the pasture with a flock. When the Old Testament prophets began speaking, they often spoke about shepherds of their generation and predicted a time when a greater Shepherd would emerge. And in a way at Jesus’ death, the shepherds were part of the story too for it was the Passover and the lambs were being prepared. After the Resurrection Jesus asks Peter to feed his sheep. And as we prepare for Christmas, I think it is a good time for our hearts to rediscover the blessing of shepherds watching, feeding, and protecting their flocks destined for sacrifice even as they witness the birth of Jesus. Friends, it is time to share the words of God to the least, the last and the lost. It is time, God says, to gently remind people, perhaps even in song, of the promises in the Good Shepherd of Christmas. So, Are We Being Called In The Comfort Of The Holy Spirit To Provide Hope For Lost Sheep?
Scripture: Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
Isaiah 40:1-11 (NRSV)
What do you think? If a shepherd 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 tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
Matthew 18:12-14 (NRSV)
Message: Today we have scripture about the reckless love of the Good Shepherd, from a parable in the Gospel of Luke and prophecy on the work of John the Baptist from Isaiah. Together they paint a picture of the amazing effort that the Good Shepherd makes to save us. The parable is about lost things, and it can be about all people who are spiritually lost, and the radical love of Christ seeking us out. You see, this parable of Christ’s would be absolute madness to an economist, or even a half-smart sheep farmer. Do you leave the ninety-nine exposed to wolves and bandits to go find the lost one? That’s just crazy, a way to lose them all. Now it might seem Jesus is saying this for effect, and He is but there is more to it. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it is not. You see, God loves each one of us so much that He left the heavens and gave His life so that we might be saved–collectively and individually. This is amazing love, and, in this love, we might just be prompted to respond to all people with the same or greater effort that we would exert as if searching for things of personal value. Here we are to share that God is searching for them too, so they might come home. In engaging the lost, and in fact in engaging anybody, for we do not decide who is in and who is out, we too can be changed in the act of reaching out others if we are working in tandem with God in the process. In seeking the lost, in the tension of it all, we might discover something rather amazing and new that helps us to grow as well. So, in today’s parables Jesus teaches us how wrong it is to reject those who are not actively part of the family of God. The one thing that matters most to God is the lost for God knows the damage that could be done by their sin in the scope of history. We should be willing to demonstrate our concurrence with Christ. We should be willing to seek and find a lost passion in ourselves for lost people. But we also need to admit even Christians lose our way and need a Savior to seek us, find us and restore us so we might then respond to our Savior as Lord. So, as you read the parable of the lost sheep think of the humbling reality that Jesus left the heavens to seek us out and find us and turn us toward the truth. I hope you grasp the magnitude of the Good Shepherd’s love.
And So, Jesus is the good shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep so that there might be one flock. The Good Shepherd saves, sustains, and redeems. Jesus feed the sheep and brings back the strays and helps the weak. The reality is that it is the very nature of sheep to be affectionate and unaggressive and relatively defenseless. We like sheep, need the care and supervision of the Good Shepherd. Yes, we need to help the flock as the hands and feet of Christ, but we also need to realize that the heavy lifting is all with God.
Pray we have compassion for the lost for we too have been lost. Pray we put forth the effort needed to reach the lost so we might be found. Pray we be persistent in the quest. Pray we truly believe that people who are spiritually lost are too valuable to give up on. Pray we repent when our compassion, effort, and persistence wanes. Pray we never get disconnected. Pray we never lose our identity. Pray we follow the good shepherd who leads a faithful flock and gives us rest. Pray we experience the joy of finding the lost. Pray we let God get His hands on us and bring us home. Pray that the Holy Spirit be part of our Christmas experience. Pray that we keep the gift of joy in our Christmas. Pray we learn to feed lost sheep.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 