Thought for the day: "There is a good reason God calls his people sheep. Sometimes they act baa-aaa-ad and wonder away from the paths he has mapped out for them. A good shepherd will relentlessly search for a wayward sheep. Sometimes, if the sheep refuses to follow his master, the shepherd takes drastic action. The shepherd breaks the sheep's leg, places it upon his shoulders, and carries the sheep until it learns total dependence. This is tough love - the shepherd breaks the sheep to make sure it will always follow the shepherd." - New Women's Devotional Bible
This sounds strong-handed, but the shepherd knows if the sheep wanders on it's own, it will be devoured by wild animals. Isaiah 53:6 - "We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
God's love holds us close. He carries us on his shoulders when we fall. He forgives, redeems, and protects. And he takes our iniquities to the cross. This is God's perfect love. Since our Lord loves and forgives us, so should we forgive each other. Christians are too quick to banish as lost those that have stumbled but God bears them up and restores them.
