Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Many, or all, of us know the parable of the lost sheep. The parable highlights the compassionate nature of God as a shepherd who actively seeks out and rejoices over the return of a lost individual. It emphasizes that God values everyone equally and is dedicated to finding and nurturing each person. The story serves as a lesson in unconditional love and care for others, regardless of their appearance or behavior, reflecting the call to love and support those who are lost.
What’s remarkable about this parable to me is that God wasn’t content with the 99 sheep He had. No, He needed to find that one remaining, lost, alone and scared sheep. He had to seek out the one left out in the cold. Let that sink in a bit. Think of having 99 of something and being obsessed (in a good way) about finding that last missing piece. I mean, 99 out of 100 is good, right? Actually, it’s really good. Until you are the one. God seeks us ALL and sees us as equal. We can rejoice in His passion and dedication to each and every one of His creations.
Matthew 18:12-14:
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
We have been anticipating a large number of cherry tomatoes to ripen soon but haven’t seen any yet. When I was perusing our garden yesterday, I found this one. I can guarantee that there are well over 99 other green tomatoes on the vines of the four large plants we have. Seeing this single ripe one made me think of the parable of the sheep. What an awesome, compassionate, forgiving, and loving God we serve. He cares for all, including when there is only one!