Who is God like? Vv. 4, 7- Just as how the shepherd looks for his one lost sheep, God keeps on searching for the sinner. It is not saying that the 99 sheep left in the field are unimportant; it is emphasizing how one lost sheep is very important to God. At the same time, this parable was an attack on the teachers of the law who disregarded the tax collectors and sinners, who are like the lost sheep, and stayed in the comfort zone of their own traditions. This parable is to urge us to come out of our comfort zones and seek out the lost with God. He is telling us not to stand with the 99 righteous ones, but go out and seek the one lost sheep. Vv. 5-7- There is nothing that compares with the joy that comes to God when he finds a lost soul. Having a feast by celebrating the neighbors after finding a lost sheep goes against common sense. That is a wasteful love. But God cannot contain the joy he has when he finds the lost. That is how important we are to him. Vv. 8-10- In a necklace with 10 coins, if one coin is lost then the entire necklace loses its beauty and the other nine become worthless. That is why the woman wanted to recover the entire thing so she turned on the lamp and searched her house over and over again. The Lord feels that if one of us is missing that disables the whole body (Church), so that is why he keeps on searching for sinners like us. Who is the lost soul that you must keep on searching for so that your body can be complete?
I want to participate in giving joy to God that comes when a lost soul returns to him.
