He Leaves The 99 to find the 1
“What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.” Luke 15:4-7
WE NEED REPENTANCE
May we never be of the 99 righteous who do not need repentance, who do not need Jesus. This is a false reality. We need repentance. The Bible tells us over and over there is not one righteous person. Not one. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. Living in a world where we do not need repentance is dangerous. Our reality is that we have been made righteous only through Christ.
“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.” Ecclesiastes 7:20
OUR FATHER NEVER FORGETS US
We are never too far gone.
We are never too lost.
We are never too broken.
Jesus is coming after us.
We are never too hidden in sin
Lost behind walls
Trapped in lies
Casted in shadows
That Jesus won’t come after us.
He never forgets us.
I love the picture above. This broken down, lost sheep. We are never alone. Whether we are trapped in sin or trapped in lies. Time and time again the Bible reminds us that God is fighting for us. He leaves the 99 on a hillside and He comes looking for you. There is a battle out there and it is not an easy one. It is a daily battle between the enemy and the King. Satan wants us down, defeated and deserted. He wants to feel alone and too far gone. But our Father fights for us and He says “Get behind Me, satan! You will not take my daughter.” “But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Oh sister, you are dearly loved and you are powerfully fought for. Our Father never forgets you, He is always fighting for you and always chasing after you. Come to Him today, give your life to Him today, surrender your fears, take captive your thoughts, allow Him to fill your life, your desires, your love. He is all you need.
OUR FATHER REJOICES OVER US
I love the picture of the lost sheep over the shoulders of his shepherd as he is bringing him home. When we surrender our lives to Christ, when we have a moment where we “get it”, when we are found in the lies, shame, defeat and brokenness and Jesus brings us out.. our Father puts us on His shoulders and carries us home. I love that the shepherd doesn’t drag the sheep in disappointment. He isn’t beating the sheep all the way home saying “You should have known better.” The sheep isn’t walking with his head down wondering what will happen next, who will judge him or what they’ll say when they know where he’s been. The shepherd has the sheep on his shoulders carrying him and rejoicing. He calls everyone and invites them to rejoice with them for his lost sheep is found! Isn’t this even more so for our Father?
He rejoices over us with joy.
It doesn’t matter where we’ve been
How far we’ve gone
How long we’ve been there
How many times we’ve been there..
It matters that we have been FOUND in repentance
And our Father in Heaven rejoices over us.
Our Father wants us back.
He doesn’t get tired of rescuing us. He doesn’t get tired of finding us. He doesn’t say “Are you seriously still stuck in this lie? in this doubt? in this sin?” The truth is, we are still human. With our lives surrendered to Christ we will still struggle and we will still need to live in repentance for the rest of our lives. Being found and turning away from it. He finds us every time and puts us on His shoulders and walks us home rejoicing over the one. He wants to rescue us OUT of the sin, OUT of the lie, not keep us in it. What reckless love our Father has for us. Overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. Walk in that love today, come to your Father and surrender your life to Christ. God sent His One and Only Son to die so that you can spend eternal life with Him. He is the only way. He is chasing after you, trust your life to Him, ask Him into your life as your Savior.
“When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me You have been so, so good to me When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me You have been so, so kind to me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine And I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
There’s no shadow You won’t light up, mountain You won’t climb up coming after me. There’s no wall You won’t kick down, lie You won’t tear down coming after me.” – Reckless Love
