Get ready for a celebration! Seeing the excitement in my children’s eyes and the pure joy when the lost sheep is found makes this one of my all time favorite activities to do with my boys. When talking about The Good Shepherd parable from Luke 15, I tend to focus on The Good Shepherd searching intently and looking everywhere for the lost sheep. Then, he finds it! And the scripture says,
“Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”
Luke 15:6
It’s so easy for me to focus on what is lost and forget to see God’s emphasis on celebrating what is found. All three parables in Luke 15 talk about celebrating when something that was lost is found! Perhaps the biggest celebration takes place when the lost son comes home,
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found,’ So they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15: 22-24
Earlier in the week we made these adorable sheep with plans for the boys to search for them AND celebrate finding them.
On the day of our celebration, we invited our neighbors to join us! I hid the sheep and the kids searched for them.
After the lost sheep was found, we had a celebration with special plates, cupcakes, juice boxes, and the song, “Celebrate Good Times, Come on” playing on repeat!
As if this weren’t enough excitement, the next day we went to the zoo. Just as we were leaving the carousel, I spotted a lady wearing a shirt that read, “He left the 99 to come and find me.” Yep, you guessed it. I lost it! Right there, tears quietly began rolling down my cheeks. As I read her shirt out loud, the boys’ mouths all dropped open. Chip sighed and threw his hands in the air, “So that’s the lost sheep! Let’s go ask her name!”
I wanted to get on his level and tell him that while she may have the shirt, WE ARE ALL LOST SHEEP. We all have been lost, will be lost, or are currently lost! But I didn’t. Because I can’t wait to see the look on his face when HE comes to this conclusion on his own-when he realizes the depth of love that God has for him too. As we left the zoo, Banks said, “I just can’t believe we saw the lost sheep!” It was a good day.
Mr. Marc was our next door neighbor and often played songs on his guitar as the boys ran around in the backyard. As part of the Speer Family, he grew up singing gospel music and continues using his gifts to record hymns for CB&J today! These hymns are a timeless way to remind children about the character of Jesus, and we are grateful to be able to share these with you.