“See that you do not look down on 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? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matthew 18:10-13)

My friend Dave called last week. We grew up together. I haven’t seen him in a few years – he’s west coast, I’m east. He had just returned from a writer’s conference in San Francisco, he was excited about it and he wanted to share. It was a good conversation.

It wasn’t always good. Dave has had a bumpy ride. He’s made some bad decisions, had some bad luck and has taken some casualties along the way. There were times when he disappeared from my life and, honestly, I didn’t know if he was alive or dead. Neither one of us are spring chickens and as the calendar worked its way toward the back page I wondered if he’d ever get over his hurdles and find some peace and purpose in life.

I like to say, “God is faithful and He never gives up on a person.” I like to believe it too. But, c’mon, there’s a clock we’re working with here; at some point the game needs to wind down and God’s patience has got to wear thin. Mine certainly does. But, thank God, His patience is longer than mine, His faithfulness is greater than mine and He really doesn’t give up on those He considers His own.

God considers Dave one of His own.

It doesn’t matter how many days and years were lost. It doesn’t matter how far off the track one has wandered. It doesn’t matter how many bricks have been knocked down. Redemption is right there.

Jesus said that his Father in Heaven is happier about finding one sheep that has wandered off than about the ninety-nine who never strayed. That’s something. It’s really not about anything we do, is it? It’s about what He does. When we wander off, He finds us. And the angels rejoice.

I don’t know every wrinkle in Dave’s story, but I do know that if God refused to quit searching until He found Dave again, then I know He’s not going to give up on any other of his flock that may have wandered off. And that means that none of us that are ‘in the fold’ should give up on the ones outside. It also means that we’d better hold the ‘lost sheep’ in the same regard as our Father does. God didn’t choose us for how ‘good’ we are. He chose us because He chose us. And if one of us gets lost, He’s broken hearted. That means if one of us is lost we’d better be broken hearted too. And if a lost one ever gets found, we’d better be rejoicing right along the angels.

My brother Dave called last week … it was a good conversation.

A Perfect Day

The Texas sun

Low and to our backs

Shining, through us,

On the road ahead

Leading up to camp

The day’s work behind us

Walking side by side

No words between us

Brothers

A perfect moment;

A perfect memory

It was a perfect day