Rejoice (by David Peterson)

Rejoice (by David Peterson)

While in Capernaum, Jesus says:

Matthew 18:10-14

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.”

Parallel scripture is found in Luke 15:1-7 and Jesus cites our need to rejoice over the finding of those lost souls.

The great, “Preachers-preacher”, Charles Spurgeon, once wrote: “You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so: He who counts the stars, and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting His own children. He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature He ever made or the only saint He ever loved. Approach him and be at peace.”

If you have ever been lost you will remember how it felt when you were found. Spurgeon reassures us that Jesus will find His followers and give them peace.

L. Phillip Knox wrote the hymn “That One Lost Sheep” and the refrain is “The Shepherd went out to search for His sheep and all through the night on a cold mountain steep, He sought till He found him, with love-bands He bound him, and I was that one lost sheep.” Knox correctly tells us that our loving shepherd searches and finds us when we are lost.

Let us pray: Our Good Shepherd Jesus, thank you for keeping tabs on us and even looking for us when we go astray. We rejoice that we are part of your fold and always accounted for!