In one of Christ Jesus' most beautiful parables he tells us of God's constant, loving care of His children. Simply, but eloquently, he compares it to that of a shepherd's care of his sheep. "How think ye?" he asked his disciples—"How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? . . . Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."Matt. 18:12-14; Both Matthew and Luke record this teaching of the Saviour's in all its poignant beauty and significance.
Jesus was assuring his followers of God's love in a way they could not help but understand. The shepherd in the parable does not wait for the little lost sheep to wander around in the darkness of fear and hunger and to struggle back to the fold. He goes out to search for it, and finding it, he joyfully carries it home. "It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish," the Saviour lovingly declares.
This promise applies to us today, for each one of us is one of His "little ones." How immeasurably comforting this promise is for you and me today! It means that we can never be lost or separated from God's ever-present, all-encompassing, infinite goodness, wisdom, and love, because we are in truth the ideas, the reflections, of God. It means that even if we humanly wander from the straight and rewarding way of His provision, even if materialism and stubborn self-will lure us into disobedience to His law, even if we cannot quite grasp His Word, still His love is with us; and, if we will but let Him, He gently leads us home. He will not fail us nor forsake us, the Scriptures assure us.
