September 17

The Seeking of Saviour

What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? — Luke 15:4 BSB

Does the Shepherd care when one of His sheep goes missing? He has a hundred sheep—does He even notice when one wanders off? Does He miss just one among so many? Christ is surrounded by multitudes of angels and redeemed saints who never stray. Does He still care when, in the vastness of a great city or a distant town, one soul drifts away into the shadows?

"There were ninety-nine safe in the fold,
Protected from the cold,
But one had wandered away,
Far from the gates of gold,
Lost on the mountains wild and bare,
Lost from the Shepherd’s tender care.

'Lord, aren’t the ninety-nine enough?
Must You still go after this one?'
But the Shepherd replied, ‘This one is mine—
It has wandered far from home.
And though the road be rough and steep,
I will not rest till I find My sheep.’”

Christ does care when one of His sheep goes astray. Did any mother ever have so many children that she wouldn’t miss one if they wandered away? If we think Christ only loves us as part of a group and not as individuals, we don’t fully understand His love. A father whose child had been taken once said, “As long as I live, I’ll search for my lost child, looking into the face of every boy I see, hoping to find him.” Imagine that heartbroken father, giving up everything in his desperate search. Then consider Christ’s search for the one who has wandered from His love. See Him, weary and wounded, seeking the lost until He finds them.