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A Message to the 99 Good Sheep Jesus Left Behind
When the shepherd goes out in search of one sheep, it’s good news for all sheep.
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? — Luke 15:4
Throughout the Bible, God uses the metaphor of sheep to describe his people.
Should we be insulted by that?
Sheep are dim-witted, easily distracted, and prone to wander into dangerous areas.
Come on, God, is that really how you see me?!
Can’t I be as loyal as a dog? Or as fun as a dolphin?
The theologian Charles Spurgeon said this about sheep:
A sheep is of all creatures the most senseless. If we have lost a dog, it may find its way home again; possibly a horse might return to its master’s stable; but a sheep will wander on and on, in endless mazes lost.
When I read that description, I can’t be too offended by God’s choice of animal to describe me.
I have recently installed an app on my computer that locks me out of all social media websites for a set time. Why? So that I don’t get lost in “endless mazes.” If I take a break for five minutes to check out what’s happening on Facebook, I’m soon sucked down a rabbit hole. Two hours later, I’m watching YouTube clips from the 2007 TV movie Sybil. (Oddly specific because it’s true.)
Okay, God, I’m a sheep.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells a story about a lost sheep and the lengths its shepherd will go to find it. The sheep is in a fold with 99 others and wanders off on its own.
Later in the chapter, Jesus tells another story, this one about a son who gets lost. This young man defiantly asks his father for his inheritance and heads off for a life of wild living. He chooses to leave home.
But this sheep? He was just being his senseless self. He got lost.
We all get lost, but not all in the same way. Sometimes we know full well what we are doing. We turn from God as the younger son did and choose to go our own…
