The Shepard representing Jesus goes looking for the lost sheep until it has been found. How much more valued are any of us to Him?
I have been lost in life and Jesus was there for me to lead me where He needed me to be.
My post Your Own Personal Jesus and the post Righteous Judgement cover my near death experience.
Jesus reached out to me when I needed it most. And I was eventually found because of it.
In the prodigal son parable the younger of two sons is lost and destitute and wants nothing more of the life that he lived discovering all he thought he wanted to be shallow and lacking any real substance.
But the prodigal sons father slaughters the fatted calf and celebrates the return of a son he thought long dead.
The elder son has a classic reaction, the reaction too many of us have which is the prodigal son deserves punishment for his actions yet Jesus is represented as the father in this story and He insists that all should celebrate the return of a son thought dead representing the celebrations in Heaven when a sinner turns over a new leaf and is saved.
In Jacob 5 there is the story of a master of a vineyard who saved a tree thought to be a lost cause yet through hard long work the tree is saved.
Again we have a story about something thought to be a lost cause and yet the master or father or Shepard refuse to give up on what or who they know they can save.
For those who have never strayed, been lost or fallen away, your journey is it's own reward. But when one who was lost and thought to be a lost cause returns then there is a deserved celebration taking place in all of Heaven.
There is another parable taught by Jesus;
Matthew 20:1-16 "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen."
The master of the vineyard yet again is representative of Jesus and the core of the message to me is that as long as we get there it doesn't matter if we weren't there all along, the point is to reach our destiny. Even if we were the last to find salvation the point is that we found salvation to begin with.
I found God but I did not find Jesus, He found me.
