"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?"
Luke 15:4
I think the parable that begins with this verse is about the importance of the individual, and how God wants to help and save us all. In this same chapter Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son as well, to illustrate the same idea. When we're lost, God doesn't just write us off or dismiss us... he goes out to find us and bring us back to the flock. We aren't disposable or replaceable in the kingdom of God... we are all loved and wanted and have a place prepared for us, and people to rejoice over us if we come home.
Significantly though, it requires a willingness to return, and if we expand the idea to encompass other parables, like the ten virgins, it also requires some preparation on our parts in order to reach where God wants us to come and to rejoin our heavenly family. As the lost sheep we can't be jumping out of the pen as soon as we get back mumbling in our baa-language about how we hate it here, and taking off again.
Today, let's remember that the Lord loves us and comes to help us when we are lost. Let's be willing to return and also to learn more about God's laws and why it is dangerous to wander far from our shepherd. Let's also protect ourselves by learning more about God and all that he has prepared for us, so that we can make better, more informed choices between following God and following anything else, including our own whims. It's still our choice whether to stray or not, but let's learn more about what not straying means and the joy that God offers us before we jump back into rebellion for the sake of rebellion. :)
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