“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.” Matthew 18:12, 13 (New American Standard Bible)
At times in my past I’ve viewed God as too preoccupied with other things to be concerned with my individual needs. Honestly, it wasn’t that I felt He wasn’t able to meet my need, I thought I didn’t have enough worth in His eyes to merit it.
Worth can be defined in many ways. There is my definition and there is yours. What might be of worth to one person would be something I would go out of my way to avoid-like tuna casserole. But my study of God has taught me that His view of my individual worth is very great, so-much-so that if I happened to wander away from the shepherd’s devotion He would drop what He was doing to find me and bring me back to His care. Jesus showed Himself to be that kind of Good Shepherd. My worth isn’t in being part of the hundred but being a worth of one.
When I have tended to wander I thought I was headed toward greener pastures but wound up in deepening darkness. It was at that time I found the Shepherd calling words of encouragement to me and felt His strong hands pick me up. How comforting and cozy it is to be cradled against His chest. There is no slow destruction when it comes to God’s sheep only safety and confidence in His presence. Even when I am the 1 who has wandered away Jesus is still willing to leave the 99 to bring me back into His care and safety. How can I define that kind of worth? The math doesn’t make sense at all yet it is altogether true. That is the worth of 1 and that’s the worth of me and you.
Ken
www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com
At times in my past I’ve viewed God as too preoccupied with other things to be concerned with my individual needs. Honestly, it wasn’t that I felt He wasn’t able to meet my need, I thought I didn’t have enough worth in His eyes to merit it.
Worth can be defined in many ways. There is my definition and there is yours. What might be of worth to one person would be something I would go out of my way to avoid-like tuna casserole. But my study of God has taught me that His view of my individual worth is very great, so-much-so that if I happened to wander away from the shepherd’s devotion He would drop what He was doing to find me and bring me back to His care. Jesus showed Himself to be that kind of Good Shepherd. My worth isn’t in being part of the hundred but being a worth of one.
When I have tended to wander I thought I was headed toward greener pastures but wound up in deepening darkness. It was at that time I found the Shepherd calling words of encouragement to me and felt His strong hands pick me up. How comforting and cozy it is to be cradled against His chest. There is no slow destruction when it comes to God’s sheep only safety and confidence in His presence. Even when I am the 1 who has wandered away Jesus is still willing to leave the 99 to bring me back into His care and safety. How can I define that kind of worth? The math doesn’t make sense at all yet it is altogether true. That is the worth of 1 and that’s the worth of me and you.
Ken
www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com
