_THE SICK AND THE LOST_
EZEKIEL xxxiv. 11-16.
Surely everybody is included in this redemptive purpose of the Lord! He is
looking for everybody, for everybody finds a place in His holy quest.
He is seeking the "_lost_" sheep. The one that has wandered far away, and
now no longer hears the sound of the Shepherd's voice! The one that is
carelessly nibbling the herbage on the very edge of perdition! He is
looking for this one. Is He therefore looking for thee and me?
He is seeking "_that which was driven away_." Some hireling, some enemy of
the shepherd, drove it far away from the fold. "A thief and a robber," for
his own purposes, hath done this. And the Lord's sheep are driven away by
"principalities and powers," and by the violence of wicked men. Some
impure and unworthy professor of religion can drive a whole household from
the fellowship of the Church. And the Good Shepherd is seeking these. Is
He therefore looking for thee or me?
And He is seeking "_that which was sick_." And some of the Lord's sheep
are sickly. The chill of disappointment, or failure, or bereavement has
blown upon them, and they are "down." Or they have been feeding on illicit
pleasure. And the Lord is seeking such. Is He therefore seeking thee or
me?