The Parable of the Lost Sheep

"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." Luke 15:1-7

The parable of the lost sheep. Most of us have had been a lost sheep once. Lost in sin. Lost in the things of this world. Lost and directionless in life. Lost and unable to untangle ourselves from that mess that we are in. Lost and most of the times feeling condemned. Often the world outside the sheep pent looked more interesting, tempting and often cheated us and brings our life upside down. It feels us with fear and leaves us out in the open for the foxes and wolves that lie in wait. The sins and temptations, the condemnations and the evilness all flings themselves at us the moment we are out in the open and away from The Shepherd. The Shepherd comes looking for us, knowing what danger we are in, knowing that He needs to find us because we probably cannot find the way back or even sometimes we don't even want to go back because we don't understand the love of The Shepherd, we choose to hide like Adam in the garden after his fall. When you are lost and too confused to get out and the hands of grace just comes in and pulls you out of that situation of being lost and then clothed you with love and warmth, that is a beautiful moment. It is hard to forget such moments because in that moment we get to see the beauty of His Love, the extent by which He will reach out and the extend by which He searches for us even when we run away from Him. The most beautiful moment is He brings us back, when we are all so entangled in our sins and the things of this world, not when we have untangled ourselves. The beauty of His grace, His love is just so great. It brings repentance and conviction, there's totally no condemnation. That's love in the highest standards.