One of Jesus' most beautiful parables portrays the concern of a shepherd over one wayward sheep. Never having been a sheep, none of us can say for sure just what made that one sheep to leave the flock and go out on its own. But we have seen people behave like the sheep in the parable. So perhaps the impulses are similar. Like humans, perhaps the sheep looked over the fence at what seemed to be greener pastures. "There's a world of exciting experiences out there, and here I am, stuck with ninety-nine boring duds. We go only where the shepherd leads us, eat only what he feeds us, and do only what he says." So as the flock headed home, our independent-minded friend began drifting toward the rear. When they rounded the next bend, his chance would come! Tailing behind, he let the rest of the flock turn and disappear from sight. He paused only a moment, because the strange new thrills that rippled through his little spirit drove him on. So this is freedom, he thought. What an experience!
Meanwhile, our self-seeking friend had been too busy to notice his own lengthening shadow. The sun disappeared behind the hills. Clouds gathered. The sharp air stung his nostrils. Suddenly he sensed something else he had never experienced before. He could not define it, but he felt it. We human beings call it fear. What he had dreamed would be an exercise of freedom turned out to be a nightmare--an aimless, senseless, irresponsible plunge into confusion and loss. He had started out with no real sense of direction, and now he had arrived at where he was going--nowhere. He was alone, completely lost, and his cries were being carried away by the wind.
Just so it is with people who wander though life without Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. They are lost--lost to the cause of Christ here on earth, lost to the great opportunities for service in the kingdom of God, lost to God forever, lost to the eternal blessings that would have been theirs to enjoy had they obeyed!
For one person who is without Christ forever, all the combined misery of all time cannot begin to equal the tragedy of that one word--lost! It is no wonder Jesus said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36,37).
Meanwhile, as dusk arrived, the flock in the valley prepared for the night. Safe inside the sheep-fold, they were content. Everything good was theirs, for they had stayed close to the shepherd. But the shepherd was troubled, deeply troubled. He counted his sheep once; then twice. There were only ninety-nine. One was missing! Out there in the darkness and danger, one sheep was stumbling in confusion.
So, leaving the comfort and safety of the fold, the shepherd committed himself to the dangerous rescue operation, all the while calling to his sheep. Oh, what the shepherd had to suffer because of the foolish disobedience of one sheep! So it was with Jesus. Our rebellion cost Him everything, including His life! "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep," He said (John 10:11). All at once the shepherd heard a faint, pitiful cry. With quickened step he moved toward the sound. Then he found it! Caught in a thicket, the exhausted, trembling sheep had come to the end of its wanderings. Gone were the rebellious impulses. Gone was the ambition to live its own life to please itself. It was back in the arms of the shepherd, and that was all that mattered.
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Surrender to Him now. He will save you and give you true freedom. |
