Being back in school has certainly felt different. However, although things are new this term, there still remains one unchanged fact in my classroom.
I am convinced that my classroom contains something resembling the Bermuda Triangle. The amount of things that go missing on a daily basis is unreal. They simply vanish into thin air. Things that have been lost since September; I have no hope of ever finding them. It’s a real mystery! Thankfully, we can never be lost to God. Even if we feel we are too far gone, He will always find us.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep:
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”
Matthew 18: 12-14
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together all his friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep’. In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God that over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”
Luke 15: 4-7
God is often described in the Bible as being the Good Shepherd; the one who protects and looks after us – Psalm 23.
As the parable illustrates, God loves and cares for each of us as individuals so much, that He seeks us out when we wonder astray. You may think turning away from God won’t make any difference in the big picture; one less believer doesn’t really matter, especially if it’s me – but you couldn’t be further from the truth! God chose you for a reason and He is not going to lose you that easily. You are so very precious and you matter to Him. As the passages state, God rejoices and celebrates with gladness, the times we return back to Him. He will seek us out time and time again, and guide us back to be where we are meant to be. You are a part of God’s flock and He will always be watching over you and bringing you back in the moments when you wander.
The Parable of the Lost Son:
“Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Luke 15: 11-32
We can sometimes turn our backs on God and decide to do life without Him. Just like the son in the story, who soon realised it wasn’t great doing things his own way, we too can come to our senses. The son was faced with starvation due to famine – Now we may not get to such an extreme point, but there comes a moment in which you review your circumstances and conclude, in fact you’re in a far worse position without God in the picture.
The son did not feel worthy and perhaps you feel the same. Maybe you can relate to the son and are reading this thinking you’ve strayed so far from God and done so many things against His will, that there is no way back to Him. However, this is simply not the case. The Father’s reaction is how God sees those who return to Him. God is filled with such love and compassion for us, that when we come to Him in repentance, we expect to receive a solemn greeting, but instead our Father embraces us with such affection, and He rejoices. When we turn back to God, we are returned to life! We are no longer lost but found again in Him. God celebrates each and every one of us who believes in Him, including those of us who have strayed in the past.
We are not worthy of God’s forgiveness but because of His almighty love and compassionate nature, and Jesus’s death on the cross, we do become worthy. If you know you have stepped away from God and shut him out, I want you to know it is never too late to turn back to Him, you are not too lost or too far gone to be found again. God is waiting with open arms to welcome you back gladly into His family.
Remember, we were all lost at some point before we were first found. It is okay to be lost and found again. When you are ready to return to the Father, He will be waiting to celebrate with you.
God Bless! 🙂
STEADFAST 