Category: Gospel

  • He Left the 99 Behind — and He Was Looking for You 

    Night time urbam scene with man with flashlight - text He left the 99 to find me

    There’s a familiar story in both Luke and Matthew’s gospels. If you have been churched any length of time, you’ve heard sermons on it. Even non-Christians have often heard the story. It’s about a shepherd who has 100 sheep, but he left the 99 behind to go and find one lost sheep.

    So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which 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 which was lost!’7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:3-7

    For most of us, it’s become so familiar that we think, “Of course he left the 99 behind, that’s what Jesus does.” We might not ever think of it at all.

    It’s actually quite amazing to have the shepherd care that much for the one lost sheep.

    What we fail to truly personalize is the fact that he left 99 behind to find me and you. Think about that for a moment. The LORD loves you and me so much that He came searching for us while we were still lost sinners and His enemies. I mean. Who does that? Apart from Jesus, no one!

    Luke goes on to record Jesus’ parables of the widow searching for her lost coin and the lost (prodigal) son. Jesus is making a point: He cares for lost people.

    It’s more than something we can infer. Jesus said it directly.

    For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

    That is incredible love. It is an astonishing mercy. You and I both know we have no merit on our own to deserve salvation. We know we can never earn it by our works.  We would be forever lost if it weren’t for the fact that he left behind the 99 to find me and you.

    When we truly grasp that truth, not just with our minds, but deeply into the fiber of our souls, it fills our hearts with joy. Ever struggle, every temporary inconvenience ought to fade into nothingness with the joy that He saw we were lost and came to find us.

    Joyfully praise His holy name. Give thanks for His perseverance and love.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    SUMMARY

    Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep reveals a God who doesn’t wait for the lost to find their way home — He leaves the 99 to search for the one. That one is you, and grasping that truth personally transforms every struggle into joy.

    KEY POINTS

    The shepherd leaving 99 to find one lost sheep pictures the extraordinary, personal love God has for every individual sinner. 

    Jesus didn’t just illustrate this love in a parable — He declared it outright: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” 

    When we move this truth from head knowledge to soul-deep conviction, it produces a joy that puts every trial in its proper place.

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  • Is Christianity Too Narrow? What critics miss about the gospel.

    A narrow uphill trail in the woods - Is Christianity Too Narrow? What critics miss about the gospel.

    We hiked up the mountain through the forest. The trail wasn’t very wide, at places almost non-existent.  We had two choices: use the path or scramble up where there was no path. We chose the narrow path.

    Now, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, that phrase narrow way reminded you of a Bible passage (perhaps in whole, or maybe just the idea).

    Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. Matthew 7:13

    In other places, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the only way is through faith in Him. There is no other plan.

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:3

    That has led to charges that Christianity itself is very narrow. Those charges have merit; there is only one way, and it doesn’t get any narrower than that. That’s God’s plan. He created everything, and He gets to make the rules. There is a narrow path.

    There are some things that the complainers don’t recognize.

    Firstly, without Jesus, there is no way to be forgiven and reconciled to God at all. He would have been perfectly righteous and just to allow everyone to perish in their sins. That’s fair punishment for rebellion against the king.

    Jesus didn’t have to come to redeem us. He chose to, and that is incredible love and unmerited grace.

    Secondly. While some may claim that the way of Christ is exclusive by its one-way nature, it’s also the least exclusive club in the world.

    The way of Christ is open to people of any age, from any culture, of either gender, from all socio-economic backgrounds, and at any level of sin. You don’t have to be religious enough, righteous enough or good enough. You don’t need lots of money or education to enter through the narrow path.

    You can’t earn your way in by good works. You can’t buy your way in. You can’t be born in. It has one requirement, faith in Christ, and even the worst among us have an opportunity to choose that.

    Christians are not people who have their act together. They are flawed people who are being transformed into the image of Christ. They will let you down. They may be hypocritical. They might look very much like Jesus. Then again, neither do you.

    The difference is that they responded to Christ by faith and were redeemed.

    Churches are messy places, but God will clean them up. The world outside the church is equally flawed, but without Christ, it will never get better.

    Narrow? Absolutely!

    Exclusive? Hardly!

    God calls, and we have a choice to make. Will we respond, take the narrow path, and follow Him ,or will we reject Him?

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    You might also like. “Enter through the narrow gate.”

    SUMMARY

    A narrow mountain trail becomes a vivid illustration of Jesus’ teaching about the narrow way to salvation — one path, one requirement, one Savior. Though Christianity is rightly called narrow, it is paradoxically the most inclusive invitation in the world.

    TAKEAWAY

    • The narrow way is real and intentional: Jesus is unambiguous that faith in Him is the only path to the Father, and God, as Creator, has the right to set that condition.
    • Narrow doesn’t mean exclusive: The way of Christ is open to every person regardless of age, background, culture, wealth, or depth of sin — the only requirement is faith.
    • Grace, not fairness, is the starting point: God owed humanity no rescue; that Jesus came to redeem us at all is an act of extraordinary love and unmerited grace.

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