Lost sheep

https://odb.org/2025/10/16/feeling-lost

Psalm 119:169–176 (NIV): 169 May my cry come before you, LORD;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 May my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
171 May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees.
172 May my tongue sing of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.
173 May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, LORD,
and your law gives me delight.
175 Let me live that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.

In the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7), Jesus painted a picture that a shepherd would leave behind his 99 sheep to look for the one that got lost. It reflects God’s heart as a loving shepherd where every single one of us is valuable to and treasured by Him. Not only in terms of sheep who strayed away but to those who have yet to become sheep and are lost in darkness. That’s the truth and hope that we hold on to in case one day we were to stray away and become lost in the world or amidst our pursuit of our own fleshy desires or for wealth, fame or pleasures of life.

Except that, in my view, we shouldn’t stray if we could help it. Don’t get distracted from our faith by the bright city lights. In fact, nowadays, with the proliferation of social media and user content, especially by the new profession called influencer, our minds could easily be discreetly persuaded or influenced not only by the influencers themselves but also spiritual forces behind not so much those persons, but those content. It’s the same danger posed by television or computer games if we over indulge, just that nowadays fewer people watch television.

It’s very dangerous for our faith if we think that it’s OK to stray because God will find a way to reach out to save us. Did Jesus jump when tempted by the devil to do so from the top of the Temple? There is an implied rule in our faith not to test God as chances are nature will run its course. The LORD allowed the Israelites to be exiled first by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians due to their insolence and unfaithfulness. He eventually delivered them as a nation, but not as individuals. Many did not make it home, and some died in captivity, while there were those who chose to stay behind in the prosperity of Babylon (which biblically represents the world).

See extract below from an AI overview:

AI Overview
No, not all exiled Israelites returned to Israel; most of the northern ten tribes taken by Assyria never returned. While many from the southern kingdom of Judah returned from Babylonian exile, a significant portion of the population chose to remain in Babylon, and the returnees only represented a remnant of the former kingdom. The tribes of Benjamin, Judah, and Levi were the main groups to return.

Straying is inherently dangerous for our faith. For sheep, the danger is being eaten by wolves. For us, we may enjoy the world so much that we end up preferring and choosing the world over God. What a tragedy that would be! Worst, we may already be lost without even realising it!