The parable of the lost sheep. What a wonderful text to hang out with! I once preached on this parable at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in South Carolina. In closing, I quoted the words of an old hymn:
“I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek him, seeking me;
It was not I that found, O Savior true,
No, I was found, was found of thee.”
The sheep is out in the wilderness. The Shepherd goes out there in search of his lost sheep, finds him, and brings him into the fold. The sheep doesn’t even know he is lost. He is unconcerned. But the Savior will not allow him to remain lost. He goes and gets him! “I was found, was found of thee!”
And then, there are the parables of the lost coin and the prodigal son. Jesus has come into the world and he has come to seek and to save his own, which was lost.
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold,
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold–
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care,
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer: “This of mine
Has wandered away from me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep.” -- Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1868)
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