THE LOST SHEEP

I’m sure that at one point or the other in your life you must have lost something/someone very important/dear to your heart – something like a favourite pen; a notepad where you jotted down very important stuff; a close friend or maybe your favourite snickers. I remember placing one of my favourite shirts on the line to dry, only to discover that it had been stolen, cos it wasn’t where I put it. I asked my siblings and even my neighbours, but no one seemed to know where my shirt was. You know that feeling of ‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have dried it outside’? Yeah, we all have moments where we just wish we could reverse situations and do things right. I almost cried o! I searched for it for days. I even tried to convince myself into thinking that I didn’t dry it on the line, so I searched thru my wardrobe several times, unto no avail. I just had to live with the fact that it was gone…gone never to be returned again, by the thief. :D. *sobs*

Mark had a sheep. Everybody in his neighborhood called the sheep his brother, cos they did almost everything together. You don’t see mark, you don’t see his sheep. Mark would take his sheep to the market place, to the field with his friends, to go fetch water at the stream, and even into the shower. Mark certainly did not mind the title given to his sheep – ‘brother’.

As usual, mark took his sheep with him to the field to play soccer with his friends. This time around He didn’t bother strapping the sheep to a tree as he would typically do (after all the sheep should have gotten used to just hanging around on one spot until it was time to go home). Mark didn’t bother to check on the sheep until he was knackered and felt like taking a break. At first he smiled when he didn’t see the sheep where he left it “It should be around somewhere” He assured himself. He gazed to his left, and then to his right as he walked towards the spot where he left the sheep. The sheep was gone. It’s either it wandered off or it was stolen. Mark left his knapsack and water bottle behind as he dashed off in search of his sheep. His friends hollered at him, but there was only one thing on his mind – getting his sheep back at all cost.

Day and night mark went out in search of his sheep but to no avail. He was already lean from worrying and starvation (But it was only a sheep, you might say). Mark decided to go on a very last search. He girded himself with a catapult and some pebbles. In one hand he had his water bottle, and in the other he had a small knife. He strolled into the woods without trembling; without minding what would come his way (after all he had a catapult, pebbles and a small knife). He searched and searched for the sheep, until late. He made a fire and continued his until he exhausted. At this point, he had given up. He considered going back home, never to go out in search of the sheep. He wondered “maybe my sheep is already dead, or whoever stole it must have feasted on it.” He threw his catapult and pebbles away in exasperation as he made his out of the woods. He screamed “WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!?!?!” the trees echoed his words and few seconds later, he heard a muffled noise. Fear gripped him at first, but he still had his little knife with him so he tip-toed towards the source of the noise he heard. Pushing a few leaves aside, he saw his sheep lying beneath a tree, groaning harmlessly in pain. Immediately, he ran towards it, grabbed its injured leg and tied it up with a clean cloth.

Excitement filled marks heart again as he carried the sheep on his shoulder and dashed through the woods, caring less about the thorns piercing through his skin. He had a few cuts on his body from leaning against trees with sharp edges and even falling over hard surfaces in the woods.
Mark got home, shouting at the top of his voice “I HAVE FOUND MY LOST SHEEP!!!! COME AND REJOICE WITH ME!!!!!). Ignoring the the blood dripping from his own body, mark untied his sheep’s injured leg, cleaned it up, and gave the sheep a thorough bath. After bathing the sheep, he placed a tag over its head – the tag his dad gave him a long time ago. He prepared food for the sheep and watched it devour the food like it hadn’t eaten in days. Once again mark was happy. He went through thick and through thin to find his lost sheep, and he succeeded.

Mark woke up the following morning only to discover that his sheep has wandered off again? “After all I went through to save it????” He went to his neighbour’s to ask, but no one confessed seeing it. Mark dashed out in search of his sheep, again….

Well, I can’t promise you I’d have done the same. But how many of us would go through such pain to retrieve something we place so much value on? How many of us would risk our lives just to secure the life of another? Not many, right? But someone did for you and me.

“It's so disappointing when you lay down your life to help others & they don't appreciate it, or they hurt you. Now you know how Jesus feels.” PASTOR YPJ

The book of Luke chapter 15 verse 3-6 tells us about the parable of the lost sheep -- 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.’

The many stripes and pain that He bore wasn’t for the fun of it. The blood that was shed to secure your liberty and mine should not be in vain. He doesn’t have to go through the same pain to save you again. As a matter of fact, He won’t!

Someone (just like the prodigal son) needs to come back to his/her senses and return to the savior.

“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 5:7

To the ones that have been found: Don’t wander away again…I can’t guarantee your safety back home.

I once was lost, but now I’m found. Let this be your testimony too.

Work Hard. Prayer Harder. Thank God.