We are in a world that does not always recognize the value of a thing by its nature, but by its level of rarity. If you are in a society which has hundreds of thousands of high school graduates, then your “Advanced Level” will appear as insignificant, it may even be necessary to be one of the few hundred doctors in society to finally be recognized. Likewise, a parent with ten children will love each of them tenderly, with a special love, but someone who has only one will love him with an almost exaggerated love.
Well, the love of God as it is described to us in the New Testament appears in a very different way.
One lost sheep among a hundred,
A lost drachma among ten
One lost son among two (Luke 15)
The Lord, after being accused by the Pharisees and scribes of sitting with publicans and people of wickedness, told them several parables:
1...3
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 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.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
repent.
11...32
Let us remember that to announce to Pharaoh an imminent famine, God had given him the “same” dream twice in a row, but in different representations, as Joseph indicated to him. Here, it is Christ himself who illustrates the Father's Love for each of his children through one, two and up to three parables. We have not inserted the third here, but we all know the story called “the prodigal son”, otherwise you can continue reading verses 11 to 32 thus ending the chapter.
The lost sheep among a hundred
A man with a hundred sheep, when one is lost, is not consoled by the idea of still having ninety-nine others, but NO! He has compassion for this one lost sheep, and he forbids himself to rest until he has found it. This is God's love for you since your birth. God has done everything possible to reveal himself to you when the time comes. Don't think of yourself as a grain of sand, in view of the world's population, this is not God's approach to everyone. He is concerned about the condition of each of us in a particular way, regardless of our total numbers; and he works to ensure that no one goes astray from him.
The lost drachma among ten
The Lord repeats the story by highlighting all the means that God is ready to deploy to find the lost drachma. He makes the Lamp of His Word shine so that you realize your error, He sweeps away so that you realize amid what rubbish you have mixed up, you have assimilated yourself. God has immense compassion for each of us, and sometimes the circumstances of our lives, our failures and troubles are just part of His lighting and sweeping movement, so that we realize that we have lost our way, that we are leading a filthy life which we must resolutely renounce.
The lost son among two
Yes, if the Lord can bring the Light and sweep away, it is however our responsibility to agree to return within ourselves to realize how much we have strayed from Him. God blessed every human abundantly, but in doing so it was our responsibility to draw near to Him, to abide in Him, so that He would tell us how to manage our lives. Unfortunately we have all, each at our own level, indulged in all kinds of waste: waste in sexuality which was supposed to be exercised within a well-defined framework, waste of our various faculties through excessive eating (food and wine). ; even intellectual waste, by devoting more time to secondary things than to those which give life. Glory be to God, the lost son, who today we call the prodigal son, has come back to himself! So, if deep down, you recognize that your life is not consistent with what God expects of you; regardless of what those around you might think, it is time for you to get up and return to the Eternal Father who awaits you with arms wide open.
The Father's joy was so great that the eldest son found himself frustrated. But if as for you, it turns out that you kept yourself relatively pure, that you devoted your life to God from an early age and did not waste it in different ways, then do not be offended by the joy for every one of his found children; nor his commitment to achieving it through this war against the evil one. No, do not be offended by the interest given by Christ to Evangelization, but remember, that for your found brother as for you, God is waging an equal fight: giving life, taking care of life. Reading the article “The 2 Maries” could also reassure you about the value of your perseverance.
The least of the sparrows, the least of the hairs (Luke 12 v 4-9)
4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
Here again, God displays his approach to large numbers, but let's look carefully at what he is talking about:
Today we are in a world where more and more we fear to display our Faith in Christ, we fear to proclaim the Word among men, often out of shame, often out of fear of reprisals; and on this subject Christ is severe and reminds us of what we must expect at the end of time if this happens to be our case. O may we arise, me included, and let ourselves be guided by his Spirit to spread his Gospel. For this we do not need the agreement of the authorities of this world. Indeed, according to God, our submission to them is only restricted to the affairs of this world (taxes, and other laws having no impact on our faith). Let us not wait to create “Churches” with presidents (other than Christ) at their heads as the law requires, or to submit to any madness whatsoever, established as law in our country. Let us spread the Gospel of Christ without fear, but in all humility and honesty before God to whom we will give account for every word we have uttered.
God assures us here that if he can allow man to harm our lives (this is called persecution and tribulation), the most important thing is that our souls will remain in his hands. And even about physical protection, he tells us that nothing could happen to us because he would be distracted or busy with something else. Indeed, if anything happened, it would only be because he allowed it; for he affirms that if the sparrows are so numerous that they are sold at a low price, yet none is forgotten before Him. The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, takes from each of His Creatures, from plants to Men, including animals (Ps 104:21, Deut 25:4). And if he cares so much for sparrows, almost worthless for us men, what about us men, us his children who are “of more value than many sparrows” Yes, our life can be taken from us, but only if the Lord allows it, because he watches over everyone, even over each of our hairs, isn't that reassuring!
Furthermore, many of us lead such a diluted life of faith not always out of fear of Man, but also sometimes because we are overly preoccupied with our primary needs: “food and raiment”.
The ravens end the lilies (Luke 12 v 22-31)
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye 22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
A final development on the value of the child of God in the eyes of his Father... Certainly God does not call us to lead an irresponsible or lazy life; the book of “Proverbs” remains fully relevant today. On the other hand, Christ invites us, as appears several times in the Gospel of "Luke", to be careful not to make our "biological survival" the center of our interests, our essential concern, the standard, the instrument of measuring or evaluating our choices, our decisions, our schedules: to do so would be to act like the pagans. Now, in all honesty, this has often been the case for several of us, me first and foremost. God reminds us that whatever we do, we cannot ultimately guarantee one more minute of our life span, so we might as well be careful not to get confused. The Lord reminds us that if He, the Creator, takes as much care of the birds and the lilies of the fields which do not take all our precautions for their survival, then obviously He cannot abandon us, because obviously we are worth more than the birds. However, my brothers, when we examine reality, we will see that our suffering most often comes from our longing for something that goes far beyond “food and raiment”. The apostle Paul teaches us this: And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Tim 6 v 8-10). Paul says this in a context where people used the Word of God to enrich themselves, as is still done today; but the reality of the danger of wanting to get rich remains permanent. Whatever how you intend to do it, loving money will inevitably lead you into trouble. So if God loves us deeply, much more than just birds, if He assures us that He will take care of us; On the other hand, he wants us to keep it as our central concern even if it means settling for “food and raiment”. But let us remember, He assures us that He will take care of us, already by watching over our life (purpose of food), but also over our health (purpose of clothing). He will perhaps do it through our work, because God does not call us to be lazy, but even if the job market is difficult for us, we are better than the birds who do not work: He will provide. So let us try to elevate Christ to the throne of our heart, to keep him there. May the love of money never take its place, saturate our thoughts, our time, become the driving element of our life.
Conclusion
So, in many ways and through many contexts, God wants you to realize how valuable you are to Him; so valuable that he is ready to leave 99 sheep safe to go look for you alone, so important that he will not console himself with the remaining 9 drachmas, but will take the trouble to shine his light on you, to sweep away until he has found you so that you realize your error; so important that once he finds you he organizes a grandiose party; letting his joy and deep love for you burst forth.
But your value in the eyes of God is not limited to what he is ready to do for your salvation, but also for your security; he who watches over each sparrow, while they are so numerous that they are sold at a low price. God assures that he will constantly watch over you, even over each of your hairs; although they are uncountable, God looks at each one. And this, while you proclaim his Gospel, while you proclaim the name of Christ. He also affirms that, even if he allows your life to be taken from you in persecution or tribulation – indeed this can only be done if he has allowed it – then your soul will enter in safety into eternal life . Finally, beyond your salvation and your security, your value in the eyes of God is also manifest in the care that he undertakes to constantly provide you: “food and raiment”, he who takes care of crows and lilies who don't put in as much effort as you. Our God invites you to trust Him completely, He invites you to keep Him on the throne of your heart, protecting you from the love of money and from all forms of covetousness. And you have his word, He will provide by work or various means, but you, do not move away from Him.
In the name of Christ Jesus!
Amen!!!
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