The Lost Sheep

Too often, lately, I have seen that there are many people who seem to have lost their way. They have chosen to only follow the laws of the land instead of the laws of God. They bow down before the opinion of others instead of bowing down to the guidance of our God.

If you read the whole chapter of Ezekial 34, you can see that God foretold of what He would do with those who cause His sheep to go astray. Yes, this is in David’s time before Jesus was born but I know that our God doesn’t stop with His promises just because it was long ago. Throughout the Bible, we are repeatedly warned of the consequences of our actions. We are warned about what we should do and what the consequences are for what we fail to do.

We need to remember that we only have a finite number of years on this earth. That’s a very short time when you consider the consequences. So ask yourself these questions and think about the answers carefully. 1) Do you want to spend your eternity (after this life on earth) in heaven? Do you want to be with a God where everything that is beautiful surrounds you and there is no pain or sorrow? or 2)Do you want to spend your eternity (after this life on earth) in hell? Do you want to spend eternity in a perpetual fire where those who are wicked (with their thoughts and deeds) are punished forever?

God calls on all of us to preach to and pray for those lost sheep. We aren’t to shame them but instead call them to Him with understanding and forgiveness. We have to show them the same love that God offers to us when we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Related post: Father, Forgive Me.). If we do that, then we can show them that God doesn’t take us to task for where we have been but instead wants us to follow a new path that leads to Him in the afterlife. (Related post: A Blessed Path)

So, what did I learn from this? I’m not perfect but I know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. I also know that I need to trust God and know that everyone will have a day of reckoning, from the richest to the poorest and from the most powerful to the weakest. I hate waiting but I know that God’s going to take care of them in the long term. My job? It’s to help all those that I can help and get them to a deeper understanding of God. That’s the part that I can control.

What can you gain from this? Our God doesn’t care about perfection. There is no one on earth today who is perfect. He just wants us to try our best. We only have to look within and see where we need to make changes. That’s never easy but it’s necessary in order to become a new person who follows a new path to redemption. Take those mistakes that you’ve made and help someone else to see their new path as well. Remember that God loves you just as you are. There are no qualifiers with God. It’s just straight and simple love, which we can also learn to do with others as well.