Welcome to today’s Blog. Thank you Lord for the wonderful parable you are setting before us today. Clear our minds, grant us peace and use this comforting passage to touch our hearts. Luke 15:1-7 (NIV)

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

I was blessed on Sunday when our pastor helped me see that I am a pearl of great price, so valuable that Jesus gave everything he had to purchase me. It’s awesome and humbling to realize that Jesus, through His suffering, death and resurrection, has made me a part of His forever kingdom, His precious flock.

In today’s passage, Jesus gives us a picture of someone who is part of His flock yet at times drawn away along a different path. I find it comforting to know that Jesus loves the straying person so much that He does everything in His power to see that the person is restored to the flock. It is a restoration that brings great rejoicing.

I am reminded of the times in my life when the cares of the world and the work of the evil one have tried to separate me from the precious flock of God. I am grateful that when those times come in my life, Jesus is seeking me out and firmly and lovingly bringing me back into His precious flock through repentance and faith.

When I stray, I am thankful for the Word of God, Christ centered preaching and worship, Christian friends and a loving wife who are the instruments that Jesus uses to rescue me and bring me back into His flock where I belong.

Have there been times when you have been separated from His flock? How has Jesus moved in your life to bring you back into a relationship with Him? Share a testimony if you have a moment.

John Frahm