We are crowned with glory and honor and yet….we are like sheep, so in need of a Savior

Last Sunday we had an amazing service at University Chapel, my home church for the past 4 and a bit years! Elizabeth Lowe preached the Sermon on the passage Luke 15:1-7, the story about the lost sheep.

I love this story, for several reasons, but I also find the story to be sooooo frustrating… In case you are not familiar with the passage, this is basically what happened: Jesus was surrounded by a whole bunch of people, religious people, normal people, corrupt people who the pharisees clearly categorized as sinners, because of their behaviour. But interestingly, those were the people who were leaning forward as Jesus was teaching… now I wonder why? anyways, the pharisees didn’t seem to like what they were seeing and they growled about it, why he was welcoming sinners and eating meals with them, treating them like friends.

Here is his absolutely amazing response: “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldnt you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? and when you found it, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing and when you got home call in your friends and neighbours,m saying, ‘celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it there’s more joy in heaven over one sinners rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.” (The Message)

What an amazing response! and what a beautiful picture it paints of our god! that he leaves to come and find us, and he keeps looking until he found us.

Here is what really touched me about the story: That we are so precious and special in gods eyes, that he would come and find us, no matter the costs!! that is insane…. I mean really, think about that for a second…. Don’t we sometimes think that we are unworthy in Gods eyes that he would come and rescue us? Do you think of yourself in such high regards that God would go and leave everything and start searching for you until he finds you? Dont we look at ourselves through that negative lens?

In John 1:12 we come across an interesting passage: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. Now that changes everything if we truly understand, doesn’t it? If we think of ourselves as his children, if you were a father, wouldn’t you do that?

I am honestly without words when I think about this, how amazing is that? God is so incredibly good! sooooooooooo good!!

This is what I am realizing about myself which makes that, what we’ve just talked about, so hard to believe: I am a lot more like the Pharisees, through religion and other things I am trying to build up a righteousness with which I hope to be able to buy my salvation… You know what I mean? You screw up, you get lost, jesus forgives us, restores us, we tell ourselves: ok Robin, this time, I can do this, I won’t screw up again. And we are trying harder to earn our salvation, to read our bible, to not sin, etc… and literally after he returned us to the herd……what do we do? we wonder off….again…we get lost…! As I am observing this in my own life I can’t help but think: Are you serious?? you are lost…again?

I find great comfort in the words of the apostle Paul when he says: “so I find this law at work, although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. for in my inner being I delight in Gods law, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? THANKS BE TO GOD, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to Gods law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:21-25)

So, we covered a lot of ground today, it is hard and frustrating to walk in grace, every day! so let us not forget who we are in Christ, that he is offering us to be part of his family!

We are all crowned with glory and honor, created as beautiful individuals each reflecting a pice of god, and yet….we are like sheep, we are his sons and daughters, so in need of a Savior, every day!