{"id":4168,"date":"2016-09-05T18:19:01","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T18:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/?p=4168"},"modified":"2016-09-05T18:19:01","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T18:19:01","slug":"the-ninety-nine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/the-ninety-nine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ninety-Nine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"99\"<\/a><\/h5>\n
September 15, 2013<\/h5>\n

Luke 15: 1 \u2013 10<\/h3>\n

Sheep Number 98 turned to Sheep Number 99 and said, \u201cThey\u2019re baaack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheep 99 looked up from the grass on which he was munching and saw their shepherd coming towards them. On his shoulders, joyfully placed, was a tattered and somewhat still panicked Sheep Number 100. Sheep 99 shook his head. \u201cIt\u2019s always the same story. No matter how often Sheep Number 100 gets lost, he never learns, and our shepherd goes searching for him. The problem with Sheep Number 100 is that he doesn\u2019t listen. What is the basic rule of our flock?\u201d<\/p>\n

All the sheep around him lifted their heads and cried out \u201cStick together!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d said Sheep Number 99, \u201cStick together. That\u2019s what our shepherd asks of us. But Sheep 100 never obeys. He simply does what he wants to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheep Number 98 said, \u201cI\u2019m fed up with this. Let\u2019s go talk to the shepherd.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the two of them went over to the shepherd. They found him seated still picking thorns and brambles out of the fleece of Sheep Number 100. \u201cWe\u2019re unhappy,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d said the shepherd. \u201cWhat\u2019s the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never around anymore. You\u2019re always going looking for Sheep 100. You know he\u2019s never going to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my hopes,\u201d said the shepherd, placing Sheep 100 back on the grass and giving him a light pat on the rump.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what are we supposed to do while you\u2019re out on the hills searching for the lost sheep?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have food to eat?\u201d asked the shepherd.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d said the sheep. \u201cBut a wolf might come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHas a wolf come?\u201d asked the shepherd.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but it could. We just don\u2019t understand why you keep going out searching for Sheep 100.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love him,\u201d said the shepherd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what about us?\u201d said Sheep Number 98 and 99.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you too.\u201d said the shepherd. \u201cI hope you know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Sheep 98 and 99 would not give up. \u201cIt\u2019s because you love us and because we love you that we want you here, instead of out on the hills looking for Sheep 100. He has you all the time. What do we have?\u201d<\/p>\n

The shepherd sighed. \u201cI haven\u2019t forgotten you. I thought the gift that I gave you was obvious. . . .You have one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are times when you and I mess things up, times when we get lost in all kinds of nonsense. On those days we are Sheep Number 100. But on most days, we are among the 99. We try to keep the rules. We try to be attentive to our responsibilities as parents, spouses, and friends. We try to do what is right. So it can be difficult when God seems to be paying more attention to those who do not try to do what is right. It might be someone we know who is manipulative and self-serving and yet is tremendously successful, having money and living a life style that we could never hope for. It might be someone who is phony and deceitful and yet has more friends and influence than we have. It might be someone who does not contribute, never pitches in, and yet shows up at work, school, or church for some event and simply benefits off the work that other people have done. Why is it that people who lack integrity, generosity, and charity seem to be doing fine, while we who are trying to do what is right are barely making it? When you are in the 99, it is easy to become jealous of those who break the rules and are still blessed, of those who make poor choices and still claim God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n

The danger of being in the 99 is that we will resent the love and blessing that God gives to others and forget the love and blessing that God gives to us. The fact that God is caring for those who broke the rules does not mean that God has less love for those who keep the rules. The fact that God is searching for the one who is lost does not mean that God has forgotten those who are faithful.<\/p>\n

Therefore the challenge for us is that instead of resenting what God has given to others, we should be thankful for what God has given to us. Our shepherd has provided for us. We have food. We have safety. And, yes, we have one another. Moreover, if we are successful in being people of integrity, generosity, and service, then those are gifts from God as well. When we truly recognize and are thankful for what we have been given, we have no reason to complain.<\/p>\n

We will never stop God from going after those who are lost. That simply is who God is. But finding them is not forgetting us. We must remember that God\u2019s care and love are infinite. So there is always enough love for those who wander, and just as much for those who remain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fact that God is searching for the one who is lost does not mean that God has forgotten those who are faithful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5879,"featured_media":4171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/files\/2016\/09\/99.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}