Akia is the new bloodhound dog that was purchased by the county sheriff’s department to help in searching for people. When the dog arrived, it had no name, so the sheriff asked for help in naming the dog. Fifty-five people gave suggestions before the dog’s handler picked the name “Akia.”
When police are searching for a person who is lost or has committed a crime, the amazing bloodhound is their best friend. A bloodhound’s sense of smell is far stronger than the average dog’s and is many, many times stronger than a human being’s. A bloodhound can follow a foot scent, even shortly after a rain, or, in a crowd of people, it can follow the body scent of one individual person. And once a bloodhound is given a scent, the dog is unshakable in tracking that scent.
A bloodhound’s nose is equipped with nearly two feet of a special, sensory membrane. The wrinkled, velvety skin on its face and ears also helps collect the scent of skin cells people leave behind. So we can understand why the sheriff was happy to have Akia as a helper.
As outstanding as the bloodhound is in finding people, this dog does not even compare with how unshakable and loving God is in seeking people who are lost in their sins. God’s love for lost souls is deeper than ours ever will be or can be. In Luke 15:45, we read of the loving Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, seeking for one lost sheep. The lost sheep in this parable is a sinner who is lost in sin and needs a Saviour to find him. Can lost sheep help themselves? No, they can’t. So the Shepherd must go out to find them.
The good Shepherd cares for the sheep and loves them, so He searches everywhere, until the last one is found. Then He carries it home on His shoulders.
The Lord Jesus is looking for you, a lost sheep. Has He found you? “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour? If you do, Jesus says, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that [repents]” (Luke 15:77I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:7)).
ML-03/17/2002