Walking the path

When I first started studying scripture, I noticed that Jesus used simple stories to illustrate what he was trying to say. These stories had their own simple logic that was easy to follow for anyone. For instance, he told of a shepherd who owned 100 sheep, and one wandered off. The shepherd left the 99 to go out and find the lost one.

It was evident in the story that the lost sheep represented a lost person. When I read the story, I identified with the sheep that wandered off and saw the attitude of the Lord when he came hunting for me, which he did. After a few years, I began to minister, and when I read that story again, I began to see it from the shepherd’s viewpoint. I was trying to do the Lord’s work with him. It applied when I was a pastor, teacher, encourager, or in any capacity trying to help someone in the things of the Lord.

From that viewpoint, I began to ask, “The lost sheep has free will, and if it’s decided not to be with the rest, should I just let it go?” Also, I might ask, “Should I give it a bath before I bring it home?” As you know, when you’re working with the Lord, there’s one question that he always asks first, “Do you love the sheep?” If I love the sheep, the rest of my questions are irrelevant, and my judgment of their condition only gets in the way.

As I grew up in the Lord, these simple stories seemed to grow with me and take on new meaning. The story logic was still simple, but like in this story, I began seeing it not from the receiving end but from the viewpoint of what the Lord wanted me to do.