© 2010 by Jim Yackel
Lord, you are the Good Shepherd, the shepherd who gave His life for His sheep.
You are the one who came to save that which was lost. Yes, Lord, it is You who said What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. – Matthew 18:11-13
You see, Lord, there is a little lamb that is very dear to me. She is my little lamb. I remember that day she was born and how difficult would be her arrival into this world. But, You were there that day and she came healthy and safe into my life after her mother’s long and difficult labor. Yes, both came through the birth relatively unscathed and it was partly due to the skills of the doctors and nurses but mostly because of the presence of Your Holy Spirit being on the scene. I have thanked You Lord and I will continue to do so!
My little lamb used to love to read her children’s Bible with me. Oh, how she used to enjoy reading and talking about you. She enjoyed looking at your image in illustrations – whether in the aforementioned Bible, on the internet, or in stores.
I remember her first day of Sunday School and how excited she was to tell me about it on the way home. Later that afternoon as we pulled into a parking spot at the grocery store I noticed her silently praying in her seat and it was indeed a beautiful sight. By this time she had prayed a prayer and accepted You as Lord and Savior. She would do this a total of three times – not because it was necessary to do it more than once but because her Sunday School classes were doing it together.
She is still young and remains my little lamb, but things have changed in both our joint and separate lives. I no longer share a household with my little lamb, as her mother and I did not see eye to eye and it was decided by her mom that I would have to go. She was beginning to lose interest in You before I departed, but that loss of interest has seems to have become a considerable loss indeed as she has grown up to be nearly 10 years of age as of this writing. Due to many circumstances beyond my control, I am no longer as active in her life as I should be or would like to be. She now has no one in her day to day life that shares a love and a passion for you, Lord. I cannot get her to a true Christian Bible church as often as I would like – but she has been taken by others to one of the heretical churches that claim You in name only.
Yes, there are other adults who see much more of her and they do not encourage her in You. I would go as far as to say that they actually discourage her in You and attempt to lead her into a false and self-centered religious doctrine. These people may love her and care for her and in that I am thankful, but where You are concerned they have seemingly taken away her passion and desire for you. These others do not believe that You are the way, the truth, and the life.
I try to talk about You with her now, and she seems very uncomfortable; as though she has been told not to talk with me about You. I would rather it be discomfort created by other accountable adults in her life and not a general and growing disinterest. Yes, any adults who attempt to dissuade this child from You will be held accountable – not by me but by You.
It pains me that I cannot see my little lamb and be with her as much as I would like, and I pray that this will change. Things have been suboptimal for me over the last couple of years, but by Your grace and leading I will be lifted out of this hole.
Jesus, I love my little lamb and I know that you do too. She is wandering away from the flock – partly due to her own devices but also because adult sheep thieves are stealing her away. I don’t believe she hears or knows your voice anymore and that causes me great pain but as of this day I am powerless. Please Lord, go get her and bring her back to the flock. Please hold her tightly and let her know how much You love her. Please don’t allow others in her life to lead her any further astray.
My little lamb was the greatest blessing you ever gave to me. Please Good Shepherd, go get your stray little lamb.
No comments:
Post a Comment