He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
Matthew 12:11-12
My wife came from a farming family. They had sheep. Sometimes I would go out and inspect the sheep with my father in law.
Now sheep are pretty dumb animals.
They get themselves in situations where they are in great danger.
They can go down into a pit that they can’t get out of.
They can walk into mud and get stuck.
They can go to a dam to drink and end up drowning.
They can fall over and not be able to get up.
And ANY farmer will see a sheep in trouble and seek to get it to safety.
I love the way Jesus describes the saving act as “Talking hold of it and lifting it out.”
That’s exactly what God does TO us out of his great love FOR us.
God does not love us from a distance. God does not merely see us and then leave us.
No. His love for you is so great he came for you. And he takes hold of you. And he lifts you up out of the mud and mire of your sin, and places you on the safe rock that is his grace and mercy. No matter what pit, what mud, what sea, you are lost in, or how you have fallen down.
You are more admired than the lily. You are more precious than the sparrow. You are more valuable than sheep. Even when the ninety nine are safe, he will still go looking for you. He is the Good shepherd. He is the gentle farmer. He is the loving Father. He is the glorious Saviour. He is the Righteous King.
So today, wherever you go, you can know, that you are loved and wanted by God.