Too often we fail to recognize the full scope and depth of the love that Christ has for us. At times we find ourselves struggling with the sense that we are "out of sync" with God or we have somehow become numb to anything to do with Him. It is at this point in our callous consciousness that He begins a different kind of work.
God gives us a promise in Deuteronomy 31:8: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." This promise alone may give us a sense of God as a leader, protector, counselor, etc. However, when we find ourselves straying from or callous to God it is also equally important to recognize God's shepherd nature. In Luke 15:3-7 is a parable about how a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and lost one of them would leave the ninety-nine to find the one. Many years ago I heard a sermon on this passage that gave new light to the implications given here.
In biblical times, when a shepherd had an AWOL sheep he would leave the rest of the flock to find it. Once he found the sheep, he would often times break it's legs so it could not run off. He would then carry it on his shoulders and take it back to the flock where he would tend to it until it was healed. Then the sheep would be back with the rest of the flock. So what is the real implication here?
I believe that there is an underlying lesson here that is often missed to our own misconceptions and lack of exegetical research. First and foremost, sheep are DUMB animals and we are the sheep in the parable so you can take from that what you will. Secondly, I believe that this additional information reveals that God loves us so much that He will not let us get far before going after us. He may have to "break our legs" in order for us to be broken over our sins and fully realize where we are in relation to Him. We will then be carried by His arms of grace to a place of concentrated healing until we find ourselves falling in love with, trusting and needing Him all over again. It is then we are welcomed by the continued encouragement of our fellow believers and given a renewed passion to serve Him.
So why do I find this so important? Because I am finding myself right in the middle of this myself. I have strayed, been broken, and now going through recovery as God is putting a new desire in my heart. There is still healing left and still much room to grow, but the passion that I have for Christ is growing daily. I want more than anything to grown deeper in love with Christ than I have ever been, to desire Him more anything else in this world, to know Him, serve Him, reflect Him, and share Him with a passion that I have never known nor have I ever seen. I want to be sold out to Him and pray that my life will, in every way, reflect who Christ is in me. My desire is to love God and to love my family and others because of the love that He has given me.
