THE LOST SHEEP

With a little child standing at His side (Matthew 18:2), Jesus warned, “see to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). God loves children and has commissioned His most-trusted angels as their guardians.

Having said this, He told a parable about a shepherd and his sheep. “If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray” (Matthew 18:12-13).

In this parable, the lost sheep isn’t necessarily a child. Rather, the lost sheep represents anyone who humbles himself, repents, and trusts Jesus for salvation. “The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11, NKJV) and “it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish” (Matthew 18:14).

In Luke’s recording of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, he tells about the great rejoicing that accompanies the return of one lost sheep. “When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” (Luke 15:5-7).

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).