"The parable of the straying sheep
should be treasured as a motto in every household.
--The divine Shepherd leaves the ninety and nine, and goes out into the wilderness to seek the one that is lost.
--There are thickets, quagmires, and dangerous crevices in the rocks, and the Shepherd knows that if the sheep is in any of these places, a friendly hand must help it out.
--As He hears its bleating afar off, He encounters any and every difficulty that He may save His sheep that is lost.
--When He discovers the lost one, He does not greet it with reproaches. He is only glad that He has found it alive.
--The Sin Bearer carries the befouled sheep, yet so precious is His burden that He rejoices, singing: "I have found My sheep which was lost." Luke 15:6.
Let every one of you consider that your individual self has thus been borne upon Christ's shoulders.
Let none entertain a masterly spirit, a self-righteous, criticizing spirit; for not one sheep would ever have entered the fold if the Shepherd had not undertaken the painful search in the desert.
The fact that one sheep was lost was enough to awaken the sympathy of the Shepherd and start Him on His quest."
Testimony Treasures E.G.W.