He Searches Even For One

“When [the shepherd] finds [the lost sheep], he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.”

Luke 15:5–6

If you have one hundred sheep and one wanders off, Jesus tells us, that’s the one you go after to rescue. Isn’t the one as valuable as each of the ninety-nine?

In natural disasters and in time of war, medical personnel often perform something they call triage. It means that they examine the injured and determine which ones they have the best chance of saving. They concentrate their efforts on those they think they can save—and, with regret, allow the others to die, or perhaps to rally and recover on their own.

Jesus doesn’t do triage. He leaves the healthy ninety-nine safe in their pen while he goes out into the night, looking for the one who’s lost, sick, depressed, disappointed, wounded, enslaved. And when He has found it, He lays it across His shoulders and in celebration calls together His neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep” (Luke 15:6).

How could an almighty God do any less? He promises to come after the one, because each one is precious to Him. Each one.

If you feel lost today, emotionally, spiritually, or physically, Jesus will find you and lead you home. He loves you and will never leave you to wander alone.

Lord, thank You for never giving up on me. Thank You for always leading me home.