“By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, ‘He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.’ Their grumbling triggered this story.
‘Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, “Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!” Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.” Luke 15:1-7
Think about the message of that story for a minute. What would you do in that situation? Would you go after that one lost sheep, or stay with the ninety-nine that still remain? I mean, obviously ninety-nine is more than one, so you’d think that the larger number would take priority correct?
Let’s say you had a hundred dollars. If you lost one dollar, would you leave the ninety-nine dollars to search for that one lost dollar? Chances are that you probably wouldn’t. That’s just common sense, right? Why would you go after one little dollar when you still have the other ninety-nine? Ninety-nine is much more important than one little flimsy dollar…right?
Well, if you go back to the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd does the complete opposite. He leaves his ninety-nine sheep behind, the ones who aren’t lost, who have followed the shepherd the whole way obediently, to search for the one little sheep who got lost along the way. Jesus is the same way with us in our lives. He goes out in search of the lost, no matter the price. It doesn’t matter what our background may be, Jesus will go out in search of them, and bring them back safely to the flock.
This is how God shows His unchanging grace for us. No matter our past, no matter our story, no matter what we’re going through, Jesus wants to bring the lost back to the Lord. He wants to bring us back to Him.
Let’s look back over Luke 15:7 real quick.
“Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.”
There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine people who do not need to repent.
God’s unchanging grace for us is unimaginable. He loves us all so much, that He will do anything to get us back and to lead the lost to repentance. Remember though, it’s not just the lost he shows his unchanging grace towards. He shows it to the others who are already found as well. Just because he goes out in search of the one who was lost, doesn’t mean he completely abandoned the other ninety-nine. Notice that when the shepherd finds the one lost sheep, he brings it back to join the rest of the flock, the ones who are already found. He loves each and every one of us. Let me emphasize on that. God, the one who created the entire universe and everything in it, the one who created you and the people around you, loves you more than you can ever imagine. He wants to show us all grace, a grace that will never change, no matter what happens in our lives.
I encourage you to take time and reflect with God while listening to “Your Grace Finds Me“, a powerful song by Matt Redman.
In the life of ash 