"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?"

Devotional Thought:

And so here we are. Five days of looking at the joy that expands the kingdom, the joy that thrills heaven, the joy that causes the Lord Himself to shout over us as we celebrate the one. It all begins with a love that is willing to leave the 99.

Because love that leaves the 99 leads to a joy that celebrates the one. That is what this whole thing has been about. Not guilt. Not obligation. Joy. The kind of joy that God rejoices with in Deuteronomy, the kind that makes Him sing like a bridegroom in Isaiah, the kind He pours out with all His heart and soul in Jeremiah, the kind that makes heaven loud in Zephaniah, and the kind that carried Jesus through the cross in Hebrews. That joy is waiting for you on the other side of obedience.

But here is the truth right now... that joy requires a leaving. Jesus asks the question plainly in Luke 15:4. "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?" The question is rhetorical, but the answer is personal. Because the 99 is comfortable. The 99 is safe. The 99 gets you. You know the language, you know the rhythms, you know where you stand. And leaving that for the unknown, for the messy, for the one who might not even want to be found at first... that is a price.

But I promise you, the 99 will still be there. The one might not be.

So what is it going to take to turn our hearts to seeing lost sheep as sheep left behind and not sheep that are less than? What is it going to take for us to stop using our routines, our comfort, our theology even, as reasons we cannot go? Because the kingdom does not multiply by holding what you have. It multiplies when you go after what has been lost. And the joy waiting for you on the other side of that leaving is a joy you have never tasted while sitting comfortably among the 99.

I want to challenge you the same way the Lord challenged me. Your pastor is still growing, still learning, still surrendering parts of my life that lack obedience. Reaching the lost is one of those areas for me. It is not that I do not want to, I do, but a heart that sees the lost, looks for the lost, leaves the 99 for the lost... that is something the Lord is building in me right now, and He wants to build it in you too.

The lost are out there looking for someone who is looking for them. They are not looking for perfection. They are looking for a shepherd with the scent of the open field on them, someone who cared enough to leave. Will you be that person?

The joy of celebrating the one begins with a love that is willing to leave.

Will you leave?

Take the names you wrote down on Day 3 and do something about it today. Send a text, make a call, extend an invitation, show up where they are. You do not need a script. You just need a willing heart. The Shepherd has already gone ahead of you.