February 24: The One Who Went Looking
You wandered off. Far enough that you’re not sure anyone is still looking.
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
Jesus told this story to a crowd of religious leaders who were grumbling. They didn’t like that He ate with tax collectors and sinners. So He asked them a question. If you had a hundred sheep and lost one, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost one until you found it?
And when the shepherd finds it, he doesn’t drag it home or scold it. He lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Sheep don’t usually get lost on purpose. They nibble their way off. One patch of grass, then another, then another, and suddenly the flock is out of sight. That’s how drinking often works too. Nobody sets out to wreck their life. One drink, one night, one year at a time, until you look up and don’t recognize where you are.
A lost sheep can’t find its way back on its own. That’s the point of the story. The sheep doesn’t rescue itself. The shepherd comes looking.
This is good news for Step Two. If you’ve been thinking of God as someone who waits at a distance for you to clean up and come back, this story says otherwise. He goes looking. He’s already been looking. Maybe the reason you’re reading this today is part of that search.
And when He finds you, He doesn’t make you walk home on your own legs. He carries you. On His shoulders. Rejoicing.
That doesn’t erase the work ahead. There are steps to take and people to make amends to. But it changes the spirit of it. You aren’t working your way back into God’s good graces. You’re being carried home by someone who’s glad to have found you.
Some people find it hard to believe God would bother with them. The story’s answer is plain: you’re exactly the one He’d leave the ninety-nine for.
One thing today
Read all of Luke 15 in your own Bible: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Notice the joy at the end of each story.
A prayer
Jesus, I wandered off without meaning to. Thank You for coming to look for me. Carry me home. I’m glad to be found.
Being found is part of Step Two.
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