“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after
that which is lost, until he find it?”—ST. LUKE xv. 4.
THERE are many amongst us truly and conscientiously seeking the Lord
whose souls are ill at ease, and whose hearts are far from peace. They
are feeling after Him, if haply they may find Him; but they are like
blind men groping for the wall, for they have not found Him, and they
have no firm resting-place for their faith. They have been reading many
passages about seeking the Lord, and have endeavoured to seek Him, but
they are sorely discouraged.
Let us, therefore, change the subject, and instead of considering how
they are to seek the Lord, let us see how the Lord seeks them. Let us
look at the Divine side of the transaction, and instead of being absorbed
by the subject of the sinner seeking the Saviour, let us look at the
boundless grace of God which is shown by the Saviour seeking the sinner.
It is the great subject of this chapter, which contains three
illustrations of the one subject, and thus forms an illustrated comment
on His words, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was
lost.” {13} According to those words He came for the lost, and came not
only to save them when they should succeed in finding Him, but to seek
them in order that He may save. He does not save without seeking, nor
does He seek without saving. Let us glean some lessons, from the
combination of the three illustrations, as to the loss of the sinner, and
the seeking of the Saviour.