I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance (Luke 15:7).
Nothing is more lost than a sheep. Traveling over the high desert, one may come upon a lost sheep. It bleats piteously and is afraid of every sound. It rushes here and there calling companions, trying to recover a trace of the path. Unless someone finds it in time, it will perish in the solitude. The shepherd, having missed his sheep, goes in search of it. He sees it from a distance, hastens toward it, raises it on his shoulders, and bears it home rejoicing.
This is a true picture of the lost sinner. In the verses preceding our text Jesus has just told about the 99 sheep safe in the fold, the one lost on the desert mountain, the shepherd's search for it, his success in finding it, and his jubilant return.
My friend, the Good Shepherd is seeking you, but He cannot save you unless you repent. When you repent, you become one of His sheep, and He will seek you until He finds you. Then there will be joy here and hereafter. You may have wandered a long way into the dark mountains of sin, but if you repent, the Good Shepherd will find you and bring you home. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).
But all through the mountains, thunder-riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There rose a cry to the gate of heaven,
"Rejoice, I have found My sheep!"
And the angels sang around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!"
__Elizabeth C. Clephane
MEDITATION PRAYER: "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever" (Ps. 79:13).
Nothing is more lost than a sheep. Traveling over the high desert, one may come upon a lost sheep. It bleats piteously and is afraid of every sound. It rushes here and there calling companions, trying to recover a trace of the path. Unless someone finds it in time, it will perish in the solitude. The shepherd, having missed his sheep, goes in search of it. He sees it from a distance, hastens toward it, raises it on his shoulders, and bears it home rejoicing.
This is a true picture of the lost sinner. In the verses preceding our text Jesus has just told about the 99 sheep safe in the fold, the one lost on the desert mountain, the shepherd's search for it, his success in finding it, and his jubilant return.
My friend, the Good Shepherd is seeking you, but He cannot save you unless you repent. When you repent, you become one of His sheep, and He will seek you until He finds you. Then there will be joy here and hereafter. You may have wandered a long way into the dark mountains of sin, but if you repent, the Good Shepherd will find you and bring you home. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).
But all through the mountains, thunder-riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There rose a cry to the gate of heaven,
"Rejoice, I have found My sheep!"
And the angels sang around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!"
__Elizabeth C. Clephane
MEDITATION PRAYER: "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever" (Ps. 79:13).
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