Lost Sheep

I headed out to jog the other day, excited about the sunshine and warm Colorado weather, when a large, brown Labrador began to follow me. More accurately, I followed him but could not get him to leave me in peace. He ran just a tad in front of me and would veer into my side or stop, forcing me to run around him and begin the process once again. This continued for several miles. The dog's loud panting concerned me. Was he thirsty or just out of shape? I was a bit irritated and yearned for quiet and space, and yet, I feared that the dog was lost. Several trucks drove down the country road, and I waved them over to inquire about possible owners - to no avail.

The story of the lost sheep popped into my head. Jesus told this parable when the pharisees complained about the time Christ spent socializing with sinners. In the parable, Jesus shares about the forgiveness He extends to sinners such as you and me.
"Then Jesus told them this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep." I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.'" (Luke 15: 3-7)

This parable commences with a sheep, not a Labrador, who strays from his home. Any of us who is not in Christ, not abiding in the Word, not rooted in the Vine, not spending time in prayer...strays from his intended home. Apart from God, we are all lost. We don't even know our purpose in life without God. Each of us has sinned (Romans 3:23) and yet, because of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, we are healed and made new. We can become in Christ what we could never be without him - healed, righteous and saved.

The shepherd in this story is not irritated at us as I was at the dog who accompanied me. Jesus, a compassionate shepherd, values and loves each sinner who has gone astray. Christ's love for us led Him to die on a cross and take on the punishment that we, sinners, deserve to bear. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2: 24-25)

Like the shepherd in the parable, Christ rejoices when we find our way back to Him. He is the Good Shepherd who saves us, His lost sheep.

By the way, I did eventually help the Labrador find his way home. As I returned on the original path I had taken, we passed a little yellow house with a white picket fence. Inside the fenced yard played a little boy, no older than 7. I asked him if he knew whose dog this was still panting at my side. "That's my dog," he nonchalantly replied. He had not been concerned that the dog was lost. Evidently, the dog must frequently wander away from home. The young boy came around and brought the dog back into the yard with him, acting as if this were a regular occurrence.

Dear God,
Apart from You, I am lost. Keep me close to You so that I can be the person You created me to be. Thank You that You are my Good Shepherd who continues to find me when I go astray. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Am I thankful, triumphant and sweet-smelling?

Am I thankful, triumphant and sweet-smelling?

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).

As the mother of an adopted child, I marvel at the fact that each of us who is saved by Christ's blood is adopted into a new family.  We have been given new life by our Redeemer. By the power of Christ's blood, we who trust in Jesus Christ, have been adopted and renewed. We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), holy and blameless, because of our redemption through Christ (Ephesians 1:4-6). As adopted children, we belong to a new family, a united family of believers. Our new condition is not a result of anything we have done - it is because of the sacrifice and grace of our Savior alone that we have been given this gift of love, a gift we do not deserve.

How do I respond to Christ and share my new state with others?  In 2 Corinthians, we read:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, and aroma that brings life.  And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.  On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

Paul first thanks God. When I am grateful, I am more able to wear my gratitude as a fragrance that is enticing to others. As a member of God's family, we can be Christ's instruments to share His love with others.  Christ has won the victory for us; we are no longer in bondage to sin. We can get up after failing, dust off our boots and take on the aroma of Christ in our behavior and attitude. How encouraging this is to me!  I try, fall, but will get up and walk again bearing the aroma of my Savior as His adopted daughter. I want to be an aroma that brings life. With Christ in me, I can walk in His triumphal procession and share His Good News with others. I may not be equal to this task, but if I ask Him, Christ will intercede for me and enable me, His adopted child and His new creation - rather than to issue a sour smell, to leave behind a fragrant reminder of His love. Christ makes it possible for us to be thankful, triumphant, and to bear His fragrance.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV) reads:

 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I love this prayer Paul said for his Christian friends in Ephesus.

What truly is rich and glorious? It is easy to get caught up in a fear about what we have and must constantly repair or what we don’t have and long for. I often think, “If I only had a bit more money, I could fix my house up or travel more often, etc.  Do these material things bring me strength? No!  I derive strength from my Lord and Savior.  When Christ dwells in my heart through faith, His Spirit entrusts me with a power I do not possess on my own.  When I am rooted and established in Christ’s love, I wonder at the sacrifice Christ paid for me. I recently went to a writers’ conference and took a class on power speaking. While standing in a circle, the instructor asked us to reach with our arms and place our hands toward the center of the circle with eyes closed. We were to stay this way until we heard something from God. I am of Lutheran heritage. We are quite reserved and value solitude in prayer with God.  Although this made me a bit uncomfortable, I played along.  Sure enough, God started to send adjectives my way!  The first word that came to mind was actually a noun – health.  When I am nervous and anxious, my health suffers and I sleep poorly and get indigestion.  The second word that popped into my head was “scattered.”  When I’m anxious, I’m scattered.  My mind flits to all corners thinking, “I need to do this and then complete that….and then another thing until the anxiety increases exponentially. The last word that stuck with me and would not leave my mind was “grounded.”  I realized that when I am established in Christ’s love and rooted and grounded in Him, I don’t fuss and fume and become scattered.  My strength becomes centered in my Savior and He gives me peace and focus. His love surpasses all knowledge!  I pray that you “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!