Stupid Sheep

Matthew 18:12 – 14 What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

Do you ever feel small? Insignificant? Do you ever feel as if God has forgotten about you?

Yes, I have felt that way too. But that is a lie.

You see, Satan is our enemy, and he wants us to believe that God doesn’t really care about us. He wants us to believe that we don’t have much value. But in this parable, Jesus sets the record straight. He lets us know that we have great value in God’s eyes.

Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, and many times in God’s Word, we are referred to as sheep. Have you ever really studied sheep? They are cute, fluffy little creatures. But shhhh. Don’t tell anyone I said this. Just between you and me, sheep aren’t very smart.

They wander off. They lose their way, and many times they find themselves in pretty sticky situations, simply because they forgot to stay with their shepherd. If I were a shepherd, and I had done everything in my power to herd my sheep, to lead them by still waters and let them take naps in green pastures, and one of those blasted sheep refused to do as he was told and went his own way, I might be tempted to just leave him. I might be tempted to say, “Stupid sheep. Let him get what he deserves.”

Good thing I’m not a shepherd.

A true shepherd loves his sheep. A true shepherd will make sure his 99 sheep are safe, and he will go after the lost one. He will even put his own life in danger to rescue that silly, lost sheep. Why does he do that?

I’ll tell you why.

He does it because each and every sheep is valued. The shepherd doesn’t want to lose even one.

Jesus, our Good Shepherd, loves us. We are valuable to Him. And even when we mess up, even when we make our own foolish choices and find ourselves in sticky situations because of those choices, Jesus will come after us. He will, and He did. He laid down His life for us on the cross, so that we could be saved from a terrible fate.

So next time you hear that voice whispering that you aren’t important, that you don’t have value, tell Satan to get lost. He’s a liar, and you know the truth.

You are loved.

Dear Father, Thank You for loving me and finding value in me, even when I make foolish mistakes.

Amen