On being a lost sheep Read Luke 15:1-7

Last night I found myself back into a selfish, sinful habit I thought I had long dealt with.  This morning I beat myself up pretty badly.  As I read through my old journals to find the source of today’s devo, I came across the entry from my birthday last year.  It was almost exactly the same as what I had written this morning about last night and my sinfulness.  I knew I’d found my devo for today.

The Bible often describes God’s children as sheep in such well-known passages as Psalm 23, John 10 and The Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15.  Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd, and He described the way we could know all the other false Shepherds that really did not care for the sheep at all.  In Phillip Keller’s book “A Shepherd looks at the 23^rd Psalm”, he does a magnificent job of describing all the ways we are like sheep and God is a loving Shepherd.

As I knelt before the Lord with much sorrow of my sinfulness, I saw myself as a wandering sheep.  Really, the truth is, I’m a rebellious sheep since I’ve been through this before and seem to always be going back to the same habitual sin.  I didn’t wander as much as I was tempted, and followed a familiar path to my favorite indulgence.  And here I am again, caught in the thornbush that I had convinced myself was full of tasty satisfying forbidden fruit.  Stuck, bleeding and in pain, I cry out to Jesus to rescue me.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells a parable about leaving the 99 sheep in the field and going to find the lost one.  I hang my head in shame as I recognize how often I’ve done this.  He knows right where to look.  Gently, He bends over and starts to pull the thorns out one by one to release me from the snare.  They are painful as He removes them, forcing me to think (and repent) over each one:  greed, selfishness, indulgence, rebellion, fear, guilt, lack of trust, willful disobedience.  Lord, I’m so sorry.  Make me strong.  I don’t want to sin anymore.

Gently the loving Shepherd of my soul picks me up and carries me close to His heart (Isaiah 40:11).  I settle into His embrace, feeling safe and loved once more.  I listen to hear His heartbeat as I lean against His chest.  This is where I want to stay!  Oh Lord, when will I learn?  Not only does He carry me back but He rejoices when I am restored to the flock.  I recognize how undeserving I am of His love.  He gently touches each wound with healing balm but I know I will bear the scars of my rebellion.  Maybe my scars will be something I can use to talk to others and keep them from sin.

I have specifically chosen not to tell you what my sin is, so that your mind would insert your own sin in its place.  Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of the sin you return to often, if He hasn’t done that already.  This parable is about those who believe in Christ, not lost sinners as so many suppose.  Sheep are God’s children, those already in His flock.  He is our Shepherd and He cares for us; our rebellion only exposes how much we don’t trust Him.  Kneel before Him now and put yourself in my story.  Allow Him to rescue you, restore you and heal you.  Accept His forgiveness and listen to His rejoicing.  Ask Him to keep you near so that you don’t stray.