‘What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep…’ (Matthew 18:12-14)
This is one of the simplest and easiest to understand of all the parables Jesus ever told. That said, I wonder if we do stop to reflect on what it fully tells us about the love that God has for us.
Such is God’s love for us that He cares for us all as individuals. Every single one of us matters to the Lord and His love for all of us is such that He wants us all to know that love. It’s also a love that is patient and that will wait for us even when we wander from His path – indeed it is more than even this. God’s love is an active, seeking love that will search for us when we do wander and when He finds us He will rejoice. There will be no recriminations or regrets, God will simply welcome us back into His fold and embrace us with His caring protective love. What a wonderful picture and what a joy for us.