We Matter to God 

   “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?” (Luke 15: 4) 

   From a human point of view the answer to Jesus’ question is – None!  It would make no sense to risk an entire flock, leaving them to the mercy of thieves and wolves while going to find just one.

   But I believe that is Jesus’ point; only God loves us so much that He will always go in search of us, hoping to carry us home.  God loves us as if we were the only person in the world.  We are His children; He wants to bring us home to Him.

   We were created to be in harmony with God, to share His love and the plans He has for us.  We are destined to spend eternal life in His kingdom if we believe.  We may walk away, and many do, but God will never stop calling us as long as there is hope for our redemption,  That hope will only end if we have still rejected Him at our death; we will have failed to answer the One who loves us as His own and by that decision we will have condemned ourselves to eternal damnation.

   There is only one Shepherd who would leave the flock to find me and you, and that is the Lord, Jesus Christ.  “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Matt 9: 13).  The righteous are safe in the sheepfold, the sinners are the ones who need to be found and carried safely home.