Devotion: December 5

The Joy Of The Father

Scripture: Luke 15:6

Have you ever had the thrilling experience of participating in something bigger than yourself, bigger than your town, bigger than your world? If you and I attend to it, we can have that privilege every day. How can we participate in such an exciting venture? By finding the Good Shepherd’s lost sheep and returning them to His fold.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a shepherd who, upon losing one sheep, went out to search for it. The shepherd traveled everywhere looking for that lost sheep. He trudged high and low, far and wide. He peered down precipitous ravines. He traveled into the valleys of darkness where the wild beasts had their dens. Finally the shepherd found the sheep trapped in tangled briars, and after freeing the sheep, he joyfully placed it upon his shoulders and brought it home.

When the shepherd returned to his home, he called together his neighbors and said to them, “I have found my sheep that was lost. Rejoice with me. Enter into my joy.” But could his neighbors really do it? Oh, they could come to the party that he provided and enjoy the delicious food he served, but could they rejoice with him? Perhaps they could if they had searched with him on the rain-swept, storm-driven moors. If they had dared to face the dangers of the wild animals and the cold night, if in those circumstances they had found the sheep, then they would have truly rejoiced with him.

Christ’s joy is to find His lost sheep. Heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents and comes to Christ. And we experience that joy when we witness a lost sheep return to the Shepherd. Today, be on God’s search party, and reach out to a lost soul. If you live your life searching for lost sheep, caring for them, and feeding them, then you will one day hear the Good Shepherd say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

"To enter into the joy of finding, we must have entered into the pain of seeking."