13.05 The shepherd rejoices

V. THE SHEPHERD REJOICES

“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.” This word of Jesus “I say unto you,” I who know as none other knows is a welcome token that there is no impassible barrier between our world of difficulty and doubt, of long struggle and wistful aspiration, of failures and of shadows, and that eternal world of Reality and Truth, of Rest and Achievement, where the will of God is ever done.

There is knowledge there of our struggles and mistakes, joy there at the sight of any human life, after many wanderings, brought back to the truth. We are, even when we seem to be most alone, “encompassed about with a great cloud of witnesses.” In that world, where the atmosphere is Truth itself, things are seen in their true proportions: joy is found in the things that are truly joyful. It is a wonderful thought that even we can cause this “joy in heaven”: and that we do so not by our successes, our wealth, and our fame, but by that penitence with which in the secrecy of our souls we respond to the seeking Son of God, and allow Him to find us and bring us back to Himself. But here we reach a region where it is best to think in silence.

TAGS: [Parables]