Seek and Save

[dhuffman]

While it’s difficult to relate to the Bedouin shepherds, I do understand the weight that is placed on the young shepherds for going after the lost goats. The flock is their livelihood, so learning responsibility is incredibly important in that world. That said, It’s hard not to feel bad about the young boy in the first story. But I loved how Laniak pointed to the similarities of that type of chastisement to that of Ezekiel 34. In that, God chastised the leaders of Israel for being poor shepherds, not caring for the flock but neglecting them. Ultimately this was describing the dispersion of Israel.

But, the story gets better because God promised to remove the poor shepherds, and he would come himself to seek and save the lost. In fact Jeuss said those very words when he was responding to the people concerning his pursuit of Zaccheaus. This makes me so thankful for a God who didn’t keep us wandering far from him, but he came after us, pursued us, and bought us back with a price. Thankful for my shepherd.