An Object Lesson

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? Matthew 18:12.  The children's minister was using this story as her lesson for Hope Town Kids. I don't remember if she was using the scripture from Luke or this one. There are a lot of Kids and with the helpers they divide them into two groups. As the two groups were traveling from one room to the other one little orange shirt boy left the group. I was just sitting there on safety patrol that morning. I thought perhaps he just went to the bathroom so I didn't stop him. He didn't come back. As the children's minister walked by, I said you lost one. A little boy in an orange shirt went that way but he hasn't come back. A concerned look came over her face and I realized I should have stopped him. We got the safety team involved looking for the lost boy. We checked everywhere, bathrooms, other rooms, around the outside of the building. Finally I went into the sanctuary and towards the back I saw two different orange shirted little boys. I told the children's minister I found two but since I don't know these kids that well. I'm not sure if it is him. She had her helper continue with the lesson as she checked to find the lost little boy. It was him, he wasn't feeling good so he just took off to sit with his parents, but he didn't tell anyone, he just left the group. I almost felt like this was orchestrated by God as leaving the group to find the lost one was the actual lesson for that Sunday. And that is what the children's minister did.  The group was safe in the hands of her helpers, but she needed to know where the lost one was. And she went to find him. The children saw her leave the group to find the lost one.  I was that little lost sheep some years ago. I had become disgruntled with what I perceived to be wrong and left church. I had a bad attitude and everything. But God didn't let me go. He went after me. I had not been to church in years but one Sunday night my first Father-In-Law called me and asked if I'd bring Jenie up to sing a song at his revival. I said sure no problem. I thought to myself I can sit through another church service. I took her and went, I sat on the very back row. The serviced progressed, all the normal church service stuff, like the song service, the offering, the special song etc. Then the evangelist got up to the pulpit to start his sermon. He said: Leon, someday you will stand before God and give an answer for your life. God is not going to ask you who hurt you or who did what to you. He will have one question, have you accepted or rejected his son Jesus. That is the only thing that will matter on that day. God had been dealing with me even before that service, but I made my way to the altar and repented of my sins. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that day. But something changed that day. I still went through a lot of troubles, divorced four times, but never quit. I saw challenges on the job where I really did want to quit but kept going. God changed my life that day. It didn't happen over night but a lot of healing took place in my heart since that day. I was that lost sheep many years ago but Jesus sought me and brought me back into relationship with him. My troubles didn't end, but Jesus walked through them with me.  God bless, LVZ.