“I have strayed like a lost sheep.”

— Psalm 119:176

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;”

— Isaiah 53:6

13 “This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts.

14 They are like sheep and destined to die; death will be their shepherd.”

15 But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself

— Psalm 49:13-15

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

— Matthew 9:36

As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”

— Hebrews 3:15

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and mercy of Christ be with you!

Just as sheep have life with their shepherd, so the human soul has life with God. The Bible describes a soul that’s separated from God as being like sheep without a shepherd.
When a sheep chooses not to follow its shepherd but instead to go its own way, and even at one point this astray sheep may take one last look back at what it’s leaving behind, it has its own free will to leave the very shepherd it needs to survive. It’s hard to imagine but it’s true that most lost sheep got that way like this one, by choice.

When a sheep is straying from the shepherd presence that protects it, it will not be able to find water or the protection of a sheep pen at nightfall. The penalty of such a choice is death. Without a shepherd the sheep will never live long enough to die of thirst; the wolf will get it first. This is why the Bible describes a lost sheep as being food for all the wild animals. The Bible tells us that sin is choosing our own way so that we can do what we want rather than following God and that sin is what separates us from God and the penalty of sin is death. A lost soul is helpless and therefore the only hope that a lost soul has to live is if its shepherd will seek it out, find it and rescue it.