Parables to shepherds who didn't care about the sheep

For most of my life, when I’ve read the “lost” parables, I identified with the lost aspect of the story. After all, we’ve all been lost at some point in time and can easily relate to the feelings of fear, vulnerability, and loneliness associated with being lost–literally, figuratively, and spiritually. And that’s just when we realize that we are lost. There’s a whole host of other feelings that surface when we don’t acknowledge or even recognize that we’re lost–desperation, anxiety, and lack of motivation and direction. In other words we know “lost,” we’ve felt lost.

But as I reread these passages, I began to think about these lessons and stories from the perspective of the one who seeks out what is lost, and how particularly important it is to be on the lookout for those who may not even know they’re lost to begin with.

When I was five or six years old, I remember wandering off and being separated from my parents at a store. There was a lot of panic and so many tears as I ran around trying to find my parents. When you’re little, getting lost like that is terrifying because you can’t be sure you’ll ever be found. Thankfully, a kind store employee helped me reunite with my family. Looking back, I still remember the relief I felt at being found. I also remember that instead of my parents being angry with me, they were both so happy to have found me. My mom had tears in her eyes… happy, relieved tears. My dad hugged me tighter than I could ever remember. As an adult, I realize that the joy they felt in finding their lost child far exceeded any feelings of anger about the situation. They loved me and would have moved mountains to find me.

I think through these parables, Jesus has two lessons for us to hear and then apply to our lives.

First, when we are lost and wandering, He will do whatever it takes to find us in the midst of our despair and moments of darkness because He loves us that much. He won’t ever stop seeking us. He can’t. Love is what He is, and that love constantly pursues us both in moments of being lost and in moments when we are found. Just as the shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep to find the one that was lost, God’s love knows no bounds in its search for us. His relentless pursuit of us is a testament to His love and grace.

Second, I think He wants us to learn that we should be vigilant in looking for and recognizing those who are lost. Because God is love and wants us to know and exemplify that love, we should constantly be looking for those who are lost. No matter how busy or distracted we get, paying attention to those moments of interruption when God allows us to cross paths with someone who is lost are so important. Those are moments we should be praying for, moments when we should feel blessed that God wants to work through us to find and love those who are lost.

It’s so easy to let the busyness of our lives distract us from paying attention; it’s easy to get frustrated when those interruptions get in the way of what we have planned. But the joy God must feel when the lost are found (and we get the blessing of being a part of that) is beyond comparison.

My prayer is that God uses me each day to pay attention to those around me and then interrupts me whenever and however often He wants to, so that He can use me to find and reach as many as possible. We have the incredible privilege of participating in God’s redemptive plan by actively seeking the lost, just as He actively pursues us when we are lost.

In the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, we see not only the joy of being found but also the responsibility to seek the lost. Through these stories, Jesus teaches us about the transformative power of love and the importance of being willing to be used by Him to reach those who are lost.