The Lost Lamb

It’s been cold and cloudy around here for the past couple of days, and while it hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm, the dark days do weigh on the heart.

Yesterday, I was out just after dawn, driving along the country roads, and as I passed the neatly-kept Amish farms, I looked for baby lambs. Unfortunately, the animals were all inside.

And it was no wonder: There was a mix of rain and snow, and it was just above freezing. That’s not a good environment for baby lambs!

My thoughts were turned to the coming Resurrection Day as I traveled, and I cast my mind to that dark day, more than two thousand years ago, when the Son of God was betrayed with a kiss, and the Messiah was delivered up to be killed.

I was also remembering how the crucifixion happened just before Passover, and how John the Baptist had spoken, when he saw Jesus coming, “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

So as I was thinking about Jesus being the Lamb of God, I saw a flash of white in the field up ahead. I kept my eyes on it and as we passed, I realized that it was a baby lamb, in an unnatural position, lying flat in the field. He was all white except for four black feet.

My heart broke at this thought: This little one has been left outside for the night, and has perished in the freezing temperatures.

The rest of my drive was somber, as I thought of the lamb. I imagined how frightened he must have been, cut off from his mother. I imagined as the night went on, that he must have run around to try to find her, bleating. Did no one hear him? Or was he too afraid to make a sound?

And another part of me piped up and suggested that maybe he wasn’t dead at all. What if he was just sleeping or sick? He might be all right, if the farmer finds him in time. Now I was wishing that I would have stopped to help, but the farm was far behind me.

I remembered an illustration from the parable of “The Lost Sheep.” Jesus, as the “Good Shepherd,” was pictured carrying a lamb on his shoulders, bringing him home to the fold.

In the parable of “The Lost Sheep,” Jesus told the story of a farmer who had 100 sheep, but one went missing. Jesus said that the farmer would leave the ninety-nine and travel into the mountains to seek the lost one.

“And if it so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine that went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:12-13; also repeated in Luke 15:1-7)

Jesus, himself, is the Good Shepherd who cares for the sheep. (John 10:11)

“For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.” (Matthew 18:11)

How sad it would be to be the one left behind! But it is not the will of God that ANY should perish.

Keep in mind that the little lamb who was lost went astray. In other words, he wasn’t just left behind; no, he deliberately wandered off, maybe ignoring the shepherd’s call, and became separated from the herd. He didn’t stick close, and maybe was disobedient.

In other words, he was a “black sheep.”

Still, Jesus said there would be more rejoicing for that little one than for all the others who never went astray!

“All we like sheep have gone astray, and have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6

“All we” and “the iniquity of us all” is inclusive language. There are no exceptions. Jesus died for me, and He died for YOU. There is no reason for any of us to be separated from God (life)! Jesus loves us while we are still sinners, but He refuses to leave us in our sin to face death alone.

He went after us, not just up a mountainside, but up onto a cross, to pay for our sins so we don’t have to do it. He died for ALL of our sins, past present and future, and He died for ALL of us, and He loves us ALL.

You are precious to God, and He sees you. He can see right into your heart, so there is no point in hiding from Him. His love is waiting to wash you clean, to heal you, to nourish you. All you have to do is call out to Him with all sincerity, and He will rescue you.

Do nothing, and you will be like that poor lamb in the field. Our default is to die, alone, cut off from all hope. But that is not what God wants for us, and so he has gone to extraordinary lengths to prove His love.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.” John 15:13

I don’t know for sure what happened to the baby lamb I saw in the field. I drove back there today and didn’t find him. My sincere hope is that he was rescued by the farmer, and that he is safe in the barn, his wounds being treated, and his hunger satisfied.

And if you are like the sheep who have never strayed, or who have already been rescued; if you are resting, safe in the fold, please don’t forget those who are still outside! It’s a terrible place to be, and it leads to a fate God does not wish for ANY of us.

So tell your friends and loved ones the good news as soon as you can! Isn’t it better to risk their anger and rejection, so that they have the same opportunity you have had? Tell them, so you won’t regret it, later on. We are not promised tomorrow, and we don’t know how much time we have left. Give your lost loved ones every chance to live!