Lost and found

One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, ‘This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!’ So Jesus told them this parable:

‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them-what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders and carry it back home.’ (verses 1-6a)

Read Luke 15:1-10

Have you ever lost something of value? I lost my wedding ring earlier this year. I felt dreadful and gloomy for days. After a week, when I had almost given up all hope of finding it, it turned up in the most unexpected of places. Needless to say I was over the moon. The mood of the whole house improved as my family rejoiced with me.

Jesus said, ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). He is relentless, indefatigable in his search for human souls. When he found you and took you into his arms, all of heaven rejoiced at the news! That’s how precious you are to him. He would go to the ends of the universe to keep you as his own precious possession.

Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, watch over your people and protect them. Use your church to draw others into your fold. Amen.

by Simon Cooper, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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