Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Isaiah 53:6 ” We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
As a kid I always hated it when I would get blamed for something I hadn’t even done. I guess I was a victim of circumstance, running with a less than savory crowd, and with everyone of the ill-conceived plans, I would always get the blame. They would point at me and say he did it. Well, I will admit that I was guilty by association, but many times I had been just an innocent bystander to the shenanigans of the day and yet had been left in the lurch. Well, whatever I felt was really not that big of a deal as it never left too big of a mark on me and eventually I began to get myself out of the group that was pulling me down. The old saying that a mentor of mine likes to say, ” show me your friends, and I will show you your future 100% of the time” sure was true as I look back on my life. Whoever I was hanging with at various times in my life, my identity was found in that group. Whether it be smart nerds, sports jocks, or party rats, I was able to quickly assimilate into that group’s identity and to start to take on the group’s characteristics. We all were like sheep, following each in whatever direction we were heading, whether good or bad. We found safety in the flock. That’s what sheep do. They try to stay close together and not think too much on their own, for when they do that they are relatively safe as a member of a larger group. But at any given moment someone, or some sheep, could leave the herd and find themselves quite vulnerable. They lose their identity when they leave the herd. Isaiah points out in the scripture above that we all, like sheep, have gone astray at one time or another. We have tried to go our own way, apart from our good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and have become weak and vulnerable.
We humans tend to act very much like sheep at various times in our lives. We are fearful, not that smart, and slow to embrace change. We tend to overthink things when things are going well and under think the consequences of our actions when we are being sinful. Sheep, like us, easily fall prey to their enemies both internal and external when they try to go it alone. Many times, the Shepherd must lead them to food, or they will starve to death. It is the same thing with us as Christians when we go astray from our Good Shepherd and He must lead us to our spiritual food for the nourishment of our souls. Thank God that Jesus is the one who is the Good Shepherd, and is always there to restore us when we get off course, nudging us back onto the path that is best suited for us. Without Him, we would surely lead ourselves right off a cliff. Jesus patiently searches for His lost sheep and when He finds us and we return to Him, He greatly rejoices. He never grows tired or lackadaisical in His pursuit of us. Revelations 3:20 assures us, “behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and him with me.”
When we find ourselves back in the care of our Good Shepherd, we are repaired and restored. In the scripture above from Isaiah 53:6, we see that all of our sins were heaped upon Him who was totally blameless, so that God could reconcile all of the lost sheep back to Him for eternity. The pain Jesus had to withstand to accomplish the Father’s mission was excruciating and beyond our realm of comprehension. Imagine how Jesus must have felt when the reality of the weight of the world’s sin was cast upon Him. What an unimaginable blessing that the Good Shepherd loved His sheep so much that He was willing to lay His life down, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order that we may rejoin His flock forever. Just like the Prodigal Son, we once were lost, but now we’re found. The Good Shepherd cares about each one of His sheep individually enough to search for us until He finds us and returns us home safely. He will leave the 99 to save the one. We who believe in His Holy Name are all the “ones” that Jesus saved. Amazing Grace indeed!
Prayer: Father God, thank you that You sent Your Son Jesus to be our Shepherd, who leaves the 99 to save each of us individually so we can be reconciled back to You for eternity. We are so grateful that You love us that much. Amen!
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