I recently stood by our window, watching my daughter bringing a stray lamb home again. She had placed the lamb across her shoulders and was holding its feet as she walked towards our house.
I remembered the Lord’s parable in Luke 15:4-64What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. (Luke 15:4‑6): “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
What impressed me was the thought that when we stray, we are walking away from the Lord. But when He finds us, He brings us back on His shoulders, holding our feet—those very feet that had taken us away from His loving presence! What a happy position to be in to have the blessed Lord of glory—that Good Shepherd—carrying and holding us so that we might not stray from Him again!
We often think about the Good Shepherd caring for His sheep, but notice what a difference one word makes! “He layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
Even when we stray, our Lord rejoices to bring us back to Himself again. How great His joy must be when we are brought back into His presence and are content to stay walking by His blessed side!
K. Heslop