A shepherd gathered his sheep in a small cave for shelter from the dangers of the night. He counted them just to make sure they were all there. One was missing. He counted again to be sure, 97, 98, 99. Yes, there is one missing. He barricades the others safely in the cave and goes out calling and looking for the one missing sheep. He finds it. He puts it on his shoulder and heads to the others. We have all been that one lost sheep. Aren’t you glad He came looking for you? Aren’t you glad He did not quit looking until He found you? Keep your eyes out for straying sheep. Love them back to the fold.
“For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.” Ezekiel 34:11-13 (NRSV)
