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Mankind is the only created being that the Bible says is made in the “image of God” (Genesis 1:27). Yet many times in the Bible, people are likened unto animals such as lions, snakes, dogs, foxes, goats, eagles, bulls, and the list goes on. Do you know the animal we are most often referred to as? Sheep. Why sheep? Because they are prone to wander and become lost if they stray. Lost and alone, they are defenseless, helpless, and vulnerable to many dangers. When this happens, they are unable to find their way back to the safety of the flock and their shepherd. Their lives are in jeopardy if they are not found quickly.

We are straying sheep.

Isaiah 53:6 says “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him [Jesus Christ] the iniquity of us all.” The Bible clearly teaches we are not naturally one of his sheep. We are alienated from God. We are enemies of God (Colossians 1:21). We are sinners who hate him and his ways. We are lovers of pleasure and lovers of self rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4). We all do that which is right in our own eyes. We seek after our own ways, and what is the result of this? None of us do good, because we are not good. Therefore, the ways in which we go are not good. We are not seeking after God, we are running away from God. Romans 3:10-12 tells us, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

You might say “That doesn’t describe me. I’m generally a good person. I’m not lost.” Ask yourself these questions: “Where did I come from? What am I doing here? Where am I going when I die?” If you don’t know where you came from, why you are here, or where you are going, it’s safe to say you are lost.

Because of this we are open to attacks from the enemy. The Bible says the devil is like a roaring lion seeking to devour you (1 Peter 5:8). He blinds us to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). He sends out false prophets as wolves to deceive us and lead us astray (Matthew 7:15). Not only are we open to these attacks, we are also exposed to the wrath of God Almighty. We are already condemned before God (John 3:18). God has declared “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). The wrath of God is revealed against all of our ungodliness and disobedience (Romans 1:18, Ephesians 5:6). In John 3:36, Jesus says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

The fact that God is holy and righteous is both good news and bad news. It is good news to know that God is morally perfect and will always be so and therefore he will always do that which is perfectly right. But that is also bad news for a guilty criminal to hear that their judge is perfectly just and upright and will judge every crime they’ve ever committed without missing a single one. But here is the best news …

Jesus is the Seeking Shepherd.

In Luke 19:10, Jesus himself tells us, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” In Luke 15:4-7, he relates a wonderful picture to us: “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God in human flesh, came to earth on a rescue mission to seek those that are lost. He came to seek and find sinners and call them to repentance and faith in him. He came not just to save, but to seek and to save. And we are saved when we are found! He was, and still is, the Seeking Shepherd. Even when we are not seeking him, he is seeking us. Remember, God is not the one who is lost—you are. None of us seek him on our own, but thank God he came seeking us. He is the initial seeker and the one who loves first; we are the responders and recipients of his love. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19), and we seek him (if and when we seek him) because he first sought us.

When we are lost, our only hope is in the shepherd finding us. We cannot find our way back to God, nor can we have a right standing before God, without this shepherd. When sheep are lost, they can do nothing but depend on the mercy of their shepherd to find them. Even when King David, who was a shepherd himself, went astray, his prayer revealed that we cannot recover ourselves or find our own way back to God. Psalm 119:176 says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.”

Jesus is also the Good Shepherd!

Listen to his own words in John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” The Good Shepherd became the Suffering Savior, the Lamb of God slain for our sins. In John 1:29, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Jesus took our sin upon himself, bore God’s wrath for our sin, and suffered in our place as if he was a guilty, condemned sinner, even though he had no sin of his own. He died the death we deserved. He paid for our sin by shedding his blood on the cross for us. Because the sinless Savior died for you, your sinful soul can now be counted pure and righteous in God’s sight!

Jesus is the only door we must go through to become part of God’s flock (John 10:7-10). He alone satisfied the demands of God’s justice on behalf of sinners. Christ is the door: repentance and faith is the two sided key that opens the door (Acts 20:21). The only proper response to this gospel message is to turn to Jesus Christ and place all your trust, all your confidence, all your hope in him and him alone to save you. Repentance is more about who we turn to than it is what we turn from. Turn to Jesus Christ today and by faith receive this gracious gift of sins forgiven and everlasting life! Call out to him and confess your sin. Admit you have done wrong and cannot save yourself! Cry out to him as a lost sheep calling for his shepherd! Cast yourself upon his mercy! He is more willing to give mercy than you are to receive it! He will hear you, he will seek you, he will find you and he will save you! He will never turn a sinner away who is truly seeking him alone for salvation, for that is the very reason he came! In John 6:37 Christ said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” If you have read this far, realize …

He is seeking and pursuing you.

He has sent this message to you personally. He loves you and desires a lifelong relationship with you. Even though he is holy and you are unholy, you can be right with him, spend time with him and get to know him! How? Because of what Jesus Christ, the Seeking Shepherd, has done for you! Will you receive him by faith today?

If you will not yield to him and trust him to save you from your sins, beware of the warning found in Hebrews 10:26-27, 31. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries ... It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Do not turn from, do not run from, do not reject the only one who can help you! If you will not receive his mercy in this life, you must face his judgment in the next.

When you do turn to Christ in faith, then you must grow by feeding on the green pastures of his Word (Psalm 23:2). Jesus tells us in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Make sure to read the Bible daily. Find a local Bible-preaching church where you can grow along with the rest of God’s flock. Pastors are given to churches to feed you with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15). Decide to identify with Christ publicly in baptism, declaring to the world that you belong to him and are dedicated to following him.

Finally, you must realize you may wander again and get off the right path. But if you are really his, he will come after you and recover you and lead you back in the paths of righteousness. He will do this for your good and his glory (Psalm 23:3). None of us are perfect, even after becoming Christians. But there should still be a great change that takes place in your life. The apostle Paul teaches that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). You will begin to think differently, act differently, and live differently. You will have new affections and desires (Galatians 5:24, Colossians 3:2). You will begin to live to please God rather than yourself. You will delight in doing right more than sinning. The change that Jesus will make in your life is so radical that Jesus himself refers to it as being “born again” (John 3:3-7). If you can continue in an ongoing lifestyle of sin with no conviction, no sorrow over your sin, and you experience no correction for your sin, you are not one of his. Sheep may fall into a muddy ditch but they long to get out of it and be made clean again.

When you become one of Christ’s sheep, you will still have burdens, dark times, and valleys to go through. But you will also have a life filled with joy, purpose, and fellowship where you lack nothing you need because your all-sufficient Shepherd is always with you. Goodness and mercy will pursue you all your days. And when this life comes to an end, it will lead to dwelling in your Father’s house forever (Psalm 23).

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