Devotional: SEARCHING FOR LOST SOULS
“Rejoice with Me, for I have Found My Sheep …. Also joy will be in heaven over the sinner who repents.” — Luke 15:6-7.
OUR LORD desired the closeness of sinners not because they shared any commonality with His character, but because He wanted to return them from the far country where they had gone. The wandering sheep nibbles on the grass immediately in front of it, until it is far from the shepherd and the rest.
This is a picture of your daily life. Are you living for your own pleasure, or are you allowing yourself to drift in the dark and unaware of the dangers that threaten to destroy your life? Remember that even though you don’t care about yourself, your situation is inspiring the deepest concern in Christ’s heart. You may not find your way back to Him. But Christ is following your lead, and He will not stop his search until He has reached your destination and freed you from the fallen rocks or entangled in the thorns.
The coin that was lost bears the image of the sovereign and the superscription, but it is now unused, tarnished, and possibly defaced. The owner searches every hiding place until it is located. It is fitting that the lost coin symbolizes the soul of man, created in the image and likeness of God, but hidden beneath the dirt of sin. Sinners have one hope: the anxiety in God’s heart, which will win them back. There are disturbances and removals, and the house is in turmoil in every area. We must be restored.
PRAYER
I will stop you from falling:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, reaching out caressingly?
He, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am the One whom thou seekest.
Thou drawst love from thee; who drawsest Me?
Ah, alack!
You are so little worthy of love!
Whom will you love to ignoble?
Save me, only save me?
Let me hold your hand and rise! AMEM.