Wednesday, November 13: “Loving Judgment”

Luke 15: 6: “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”

What’s the big deal? So, 1% of the sheep owner’s stock was lost. The other sheep will soon make up the loss, and then some. Judge this one as wayward, and let it go. But no! The sheep owner represents Jesus our Good Shepherd, and for Him, the sheep is not a monetary asset, but a creature He loves. A creature who will suffer and probably die outside the protection of the flock. The rejoicing is over the salvation of the sheep, not the fortune of the shepherd. And the sheep, according to the Gospel, is all mankind.