Unfinished Faith: Relearning God.

Week 17:

The bit where I introduce: 

Have you ever misplaced something, your phone, your car in a crowded car park, even a child when they were younger? The moment of finding it again brings a distinct sense of relief; with people, that feeling runs even deeper. One of my favourite parables, the parable of the lost sheep, captures this dynamic simply: one sheep wanders, the shepherd searches, and when it is found, there is genuine rejoicing.

But in my study this week we go a bit deeper and find beneath that simplicity is something more confronting but tender about the heart of God.

The bit where I refer to the bible: and ask a few rhetorical questions:

Luke 15:1-7 are the verses we want to read this week, but read the whole chapter if you can.

Jesus tells this story in response to quiet judgement and again shows tolerance towards the religious leaders. They’re frustrated because he is “a friend of sinners” he welcomes them, eats with them, and keeps their company. But instead of defending Himself by arguing, He reveals the true nature of God through a story, challenging the pride of the religious leaders and exposing their failure to see that that the lost matter deeply to God.

Let’s break it down… A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep out in the open to go find the one that is lost. Now, from a pragmatic standpoint at least in human terms people might say that’s not wise, even risky. But the guiding principle is to protect the majority and minimise loss.

But the Kingdom of God doesn’t measure value the way we do.

Here’s the punchline: The shepherd is not calculating worth; He is responding to relationship.

The lost sheep is not described as rebellious or anything else, just lost, wandering, vulnerable.  Does that describes you right now?  Maybe the sheep is unaware of where it is, how far it’s gone. Important point I think when I read this about being lost, being lost is not always about defiance, sometimes it’s caused by confusion, weakness, grief or distraction. It made me realise that in life sometimes people don’t always run from God (like Jonah) they slowly and quietly drift away.

But the shepherd still goes to search.

He doesn’t send someone else or wait for the sheep to realise what it’s done and return, He searches “until He finds it.” I love that about how it describes the character of God, persistent, not easily deterred and not passive in His love for us.

He moves towards the lost with intention. What happens when the shepherd finds the sheep? No telling off or lecture about how wrong it was to wander off, instead He lifts it up onto His shoulders, you could say carrying the full weight of its vulnerability on Himself (sound like another prophetic act?)  and carries it home.

Such a beautiful picture of a response of restoration, and of grace that disrupts our instinct to correct.

More than that heaven celebrates! Not the ninety-nine who stayed, but the one who was found. This doesn’t mean the ninety-nine mattered less; rather, restoration brings joy to the heart of God, what was lost is now found.

Something struck me also in this parable. At times I recognise myself as the lost sheep, but sometimes dare I say we are more like the ninety-nine who no longer notice the missing. Do we share a shepherd heart? Or have we grown comfortable in being safe?

This beautiful parable offers us I think this: Jesus refuses to define people by their wandering; he seeks them without shame, restores them without hesitation, and rejoices over them without restraint.

This image exposes the deepest truth to me of this story when I look at it and brings me to tears. Tears of gratitude.

Remember: you are never just one among many to Him…you are always the one He will go after.

The bit where you get to think about stuff: Questions for the week.

When have I experienced being “lost” not through rebellion, but through weariness, grief or drifting and how might God have been seeking me in that season?

Do you truly believe God responds to your vulnerability with restoration rather than reprimand and why is that perhaps hard to accept?

In my daily life right now, am I more like the shepherd who notices and moves towards the lost, or the ninety-nine who remain comfortable and unaware? What needs to shift in me?