Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? (Luke 15:4)
THE VALUE OF THAT which is lost determines the intensity of the search. Who hasn’t lost a grocery list and made another one? Lost passwords can easily be changed. Lost car keys, on the other hand, require a major search and we don’t stop until we find them. One of the most serious losses is that of a loved one who has strayed. No measure is too extreme in the search for that valuable loved one. Giving up is never an option.
From the beginning, God’s plan was to enjoy a relationship with man. Unfortunately, sin interrupted the plan and we, like the lost sheep of Christ’s parable, went our own way. We were all lost like that one valuable sheep, and God persistently sought us. The intensity of Christ’s suffering and His death for us confirms how valuable we are to God. He went to extreme measures then, and even today uses diverse circumstances to seek the lost until He finds them.
In a hymn that dates back to 1868 titled “The Ninety and Nine,” Elizabeth C. Clephane penned this question: “Lord, Thou has here Thy ninety and nine, are they not enough for Thee?” We know the answer that follows: ninety-nine are not enough. That is why God is still relentlessly seeking the one valuable soul that He loves with eternal love.
Be assured that God never gives up the search for even one who has strayed.
Kathern Nemec lived most of her adult life in her husband’s native Argentina. Now residing in Ohio, she works in Spanish customer support and translation.
