In Luke 15, Jesus is telling a story about a shepherd that has 100 sheep. One gets lost. The good shepherd, knowing the 99 are safe, goes out and finds the one that ran away. Upon finding the little sheep, the shepherd puts it on his shoulders and brings the sheep home. As if that wasn’t enough, the shepherd is so happy to have the lost sheep back that he calls his family and neighbors and has a party celebrating the return of the sheep.

That’s the kind of Heavenly Father we have. He knows we are sinners. He asks us to stay with Him, but we always seem to turn to the bad things in this world for comfort instead of Him. The trick is that when we realize we’ve gone too far down a bad path, it seems likes it’s too late. We are virtually buried in our sins.

However, while we have breath, our story isn’t over. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, searches for us. And He doesn’t quit until we’re home. Our God loves us enough to keep going until we release ourselves to Him. By then, we are usually broken and defeated by the wickedness of this world. That doesn’t stop Jesus though. He picks us up, puts us on His shoulders, and marches home. And the Bible teaches that whenever a single sinner repents and accepts Christ, the whole of Heaven sings out with joy and celebration, for the one who was lost has been found.

Joy, peace, forgiveness, and a triumphant return. That’s what He offers us, even though we don’t deserve it.

Love… That’s my God.

DH