THE LOST

Whenever you hear the parable of the lost sheep, have you ever asked yourselves, “What is the reason of the lost sheep in leaving its flock, the flock being tended by the Good Shepherd?” Why did the lost sheep leave its flock, if its Shepherd gave everything that it needed? As the psalm says,

The Lord is my Shepherd

I have everything I need

Fresh and green are the pastures

Where he leads me to rest

           

A sheep, in its entire life, looks for water and grass in order to survive. A shepherd tends a sheep to help and guide it in its search for its necessities. A shepherd can be good or bad. A good shepherd never fails to give what is the best for his sheep; for he is the one who knew, more than the sheep, what will make its condition better than its previous one. The relationship of a sheep with its shepherd is comparable with our relationship with God. God is our shepherd, a good shepherd. He gives what is the best for us, for he is the only one who knows what is the best for us. 

  

In the psalm, it is clearly illustrated the kind of care that the Good Shepherd gives to his sheep; I have everything I need, Fresh and green are the pastures, a care that gives only the best. But the sheep in the parable was unsuccessful in appreciating this care that the Good Shepherd had provided to it. The sheep’s failure in giving importance to the love and care of its shepherd is pretty similar with the failure that we commit sometimes. We sometimes fail to see and value the things that our good Lord has done for us, even though these things are the best for us. 

Why did then the sheep fail to appreciate these things if they were the best stuffs? On our case, why do we fail to value the efforts of our Lord who is always for the betterment of our condition? 

After hours of reflection I came up with this principle “Nothing is desired unless known.” No one can desire something that he or she doesn’t know. That is very true. How can a student desire for real good grade if he doesn’t know what the real meaning of good grade is? Maybe he can desire for good grade even though he doesn’t know the meaning of good grade. But is that a real good grade? Of course not. It is only labeled with the word “good grade” but it doesn’t contain and possess the real definition of a good grade. This principle is applicable in the case of the lost sheep, and of course, also in ours. The lost sheep surely desired for a green and fresh pasture. The Good Shepherd, knowing the best for his sheep, gave a green and fresh pasture for it. The conflict is that their definition with the green and fresh pasture did not meet the point of equivalence; in short they have the different meaning of the green and fresh pasture; of the best thing. So even though the Good Shepherd gave the real best thing for the sheep, still the sheep was dissatisfied and continued to search for the thing that would meet his definition of what is best, and eventually got lost. In our lives, we sometimes act foolishly. We tend to desire things which we already have. We fail to see these things as desirable; as good. For example, for most of us, happiness means living comfortably in a fully air-conditioned house and possessing everything we desire. That is happiness. Chances are, we will work hard to achieve this so-called “happiness” to the point that we are already missing the things in front of us that offer happiness greater than the happiness being offered by an air-conditioned house, just like the simple smile from a brother. 

In a similar case, when things seem went wrong, we often question God; Why Lord? Why did you let me eat this food? Why did you let this war happen? We asked God because we fail to understand the will of God. We fail to see the goodness that is masked and hidden in these situations. Yes, it is true that God’s will is bitter and painful, sometime. But in the end it will be as “sweet as a fresh honey serve in a silver platter”. We only need to learn to perceive things the way God perceives. And by this, learning to let God’s Will works in our life will follow with the feeling of delight and happiness. 

At the end of the parable, the Good Shepherd searched for the lost sheep, found it and brought it back where it belonged, which was in the bosom of his care and love. God will always approach us, tap us in our shoulder and remind us that we don’t really belong to this transient world; we deserve the best; the best that he is offering to us.

So let us pray to our good Lord, that He may help us to see things the way He wants us to see them, for us to appreciate these things as the things which are best for us.