“What
man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave
the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until
he finds it?”
(Luke 15:4)
In Australia a sheep was found looking to be about five to six years old, they believe he had never been shorn. It was kind of funny looking, you could hardly see his legs and all you could make out of his face was his mouth and nose. They gave him the name “Chris”, and placed him under anesthetics so that they could shear him of his 93 pounds of wool. Enough they said to knit about 30 sweaters.
Tammy
Ven Dange who rescued Chris, said that he had suffered skin burns from urine
trapped in his fleece and could have died within weeks if left in the wild.
When
I read this story my mind immediately went to the parable of the lost sheep, in
Luke 15 where the Tax collectors and sinners were drawing close to Jesus and the
Pharisees started grumbling about Jesus being around them. When Jesus heard
them he gave this parable,
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one
of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the
one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on
his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends
and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep
that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one
sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no
repentance.”
When
we are away from Jesus, we are a lot like Chris; we are weighed down with all
our baggage that only He can relieve us of. God also created us with a plan and
purpose in mind and when we are not His, we are wasting those gifts that God
gave us.
When
they found Chris, he had enough wool to knit 30 sweaters…THIRTY! Just think how
good he felt after he was shorn and all that extra weight, that 93 pound burden
was lifted off of his back. The feeling he had of freedom must have been
amazing. Imagine how useful Chris would have been if he had just gone to the shepherd.
All that wool could have been put to good use.
Ven
Dange also said that Chris would have died within weeks if he would have stayed
in the wild. We are told in scripture that without Christ, we will die, that those
who have the Son have life, but those without the Son do not have life. (1 John
5:12)If we stay in the wild, we will also die.
Jesus
doesn’t want you weighed down with baggage and guilt. He has great plans for you;
He has had them for a long time. He also wants you to come to the Good Shepherd
and live…forever.
Vern
