“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? … In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”
– Matthew 18:10-12, 14
Why would the shepherd leave the 99 to go after the one the one that went astray? Realistically, that doesn’t make sense! Why would he risk his investment in the 99? Because the sheep represents his livelihood and his future – he’d risk everything to retrieve it.
I want you to notice something that I recently saw for the first time: All of this is talking about children! Jesus calls a little child into the midst of his status-conscious disciples and tells them the parable of the lost sheep. He makes it clear the Father doesn’t want one child to perish.
In the last week before Christmas, Prison Fellowship continues the fight to reach the children with a gift and the Gospel delivered on behalf of their incarcerated parent. If Jesus cares so much for every child, if the Father places so much value on their lives, how can we rest until we reach every single one of them? Isn’t it worth it to do whatever we can to find these kids and minister to their needs this Christmas and all year long? Reach a hurting child with the love of Christ at www.angeltree.org.
