Have you experienced getting lost while traveling? Most probably, in one way or another, we have been lost but thanks to modern technology like Google Maps, or by simply asking people who are around, we found our way to our destination.
There was a time when our son got lost in a mall. He mistakenly followed another person thinking that it was his aunt. It was nerve-wracking but we eventually found him. One time, during my elementary days, I got lost with a bunch of boys during spider hunting in the middle of a sugarcane field. We were scared. We collectively decided to reverse our shirts with the belief that it can help us. Some were fervently praying. And then we looked up and found the shadow of a big tree. We focused on it as a landmark and eventually found our way to the roadside. It was a relief to have found your way home.
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep found in Luke 15:1 to 7, Jesus answered the murmuring of the Pharisees and teachers of the law with regards to His dining with sinners. He told them about a story of a shepherd who has 100 sheep and lost one while they were in the open country.
What can we learn from the action of the shepherd?
First, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will find us wherever we are.
Did the shepherd in the parable abandon the 99 sheep? Shepherds during Biblical times usually have a sheepdog with them as attested by Job 30:1. This particular shepherd in the story did not abandon the 99. They were already safe because sheepdogs were guarding them.
We are oftentimes like this lost sheep. The modern wilderness can oftentimes lead us to nowhere. Like the sheep, we must cry and cry until Jesus, our Shepherd will find us.
Second, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is so joyful once He can rescue just one lost sheep.
Jesus said, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.”
If you feel that you are lost, then it is high time for you to cry out to God. Jesus will surely find you!
May God bless us all!
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on