Lost, And It Was My Fault

I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments. Psalm 119:176

Some months ago, I placed a couple parts on the bumper of my truck while I worked on a repair. As anyone who has ever done this can tell you, that was a rather foolish thing to do. The parts were indeed lost, and it was my fault. More new parts swallowed up forever by a convenient flat spot on a vehicle, probably keeping company with the many coffee cups lost that way. The lost sheep who has gone astray is a different sort of thing altogether, though perhaps equally foolish.

The psalmist here knows the willful disobedience that has led him astray. He asks for the Lord to seek him out in order to bring him back to the fold. In a similar way, we too can recall the violations of the Law that brought about our lost condition, but we do not know how to get back to our Lord. Often we are like an Adam who hid from the Lord so well that he cannot answer the call of the Lord's voice because he is out of hearing. This was no mistake that brought about a lost part, but a willful contrariness against the Lord that resulted in a lost person. And by His grace our Lord sent a Shepherd to find His lost sheep.

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your Good Shepherd!

Bucky