God seeks man, why? It is because he loves him. Is man righteous, beautiful, and precious that God may benefit from him? No, on the contrary, every man is devious, disobedient, corrupt, not seeking God, and running away from him. Then, is not necessary for the holiness of God to punish the sinner and consume him? Yes, it is. But God is love, and he tries with great patience to save those who are going astray. He does not consume us immediately, nor does he refuse us entirely, but he calls us, seeks us, works for us, and tires to find every lost one.
The professors of the Old Testament did not understand this deep principle in the love of God, and thought contrarily that man should seek God to please him. Thus they penetrated deeply into the law, kept their customs forcefully, hardened their hearts toward the sinners, rejected the mobs, made themselves blind to the love of God, and did not understand that the Holy One is the loving Father who longs for his straying children, does everything to bring them back, and strives to save them as long as there is time.
This is why Jesus left heaven, not to seek the good and the godly, but to look for the evil and bring them back. In his following parables, Christ explains this movement of God’s love:
A shepherd had one hundred sheep. They were all obedient, good, and right, following him with their meek bleat. One evening, he counted them and found that one of them was lost. He immediately knew which one was lost, for a good shepherd knows every sheep by name. The "obstinate one" had fled once again thinking that its master did not lead him beside green pastures, and still waters. It wanted to search for the mysteries of life by itself, and to enjoy himself away from watchers. Due to its lack of experience, it lost its way in the wilderness, and fell from above into the pit. Except for a bramble bush it would have fallen on the rocks and died. But it clung to the blackberry branches over the open-mouthed pit, heard the howling of wolves and jackals, and frightfully felt the danger, for it was away from that united fellowship. Now, it was unable to return, for it became a prisoner of the painful bush. Darkness came down on the hopeless sheep. It cried frightfully, but heard nothing except the resounding echo of its cry.
After some time, he listened with attention, for he heard a soft and gentle voice calling him from afar, and understood immediately what the voice was. It was the voice of the good shepherd who called the lost sheep by its name, and the sheep, which was shut up among the thorns, answered him with all its strength, "Help! Help! I, lost, hopeless, and evil am here. Please save me, and forgive me my obstinacy." The good shepherd went down into the pit of venture, tired, and drew the sheep, which was lost, to him, with sweat exuding through the pores of his front, his clothes torn by thorns, and his wounds bleeding. Finally, he lifted the bruised sheep up, laid it on his shoulders, and went back with it to the fold, exhaustedly and out of breath because of the hard act of saving and the far distance. However he took pleasure, in spite of tiredness, for he had found the obstinate, lost one, and saved the repentant evil one.
As such Jesus seeks you, my dear brother fleeing in obstinacy from God, shut up among the thorns of sin, and hanged over the pit of destruction, with wolves howling around you in the deep-black night. Do you hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and cry out to him, "Save me O Lord"? Lift up your heart to your Savior, for his help is near. He shed his blood to redeem you, and is not ashamed to make every effort to save you. Commit your life to his hand that he may lift you, bear you on his shoulders in the midst of the night of our world, and carry you back to his fellowship. Are you prosperous in Christ, or lost in the world? Be aware that God, heaven, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church on earth, and all angels rejoice and leap for joy because of your return. But if you remained obstinate, away from your Lord, they would be greatly sorrowful.
In the second parable, Jesus shows us the value of the lost man through the diligence of the woman who turned all her house upside down to find the lost coin. She swept under all wardrobes, dusted off all carpets, and searched in pockets and corners all day long, until she found the lost coin. Be sure, dear brother, that God searches for you even if you do not seek him. Christ symbolizes the love of God who came to seek you and save you lost one. Be aware that the motive of God’s work is not your good deeds, or your sounding prayers; nor do your boastful intents establish your salvation. But only the pleasure of God is the reason for your salvation. The Eternal One spares no effort to make you transient mortal man eternal as he is. You do not seek your Lord, but he searches for you. Yet when your will becomes in harmony with God’s will, and the prayer of your heart becomes an echo of his call, joy fills heaven and earth. This joy is greater than all the joy known to men. Enter into the joy of your Lord who wishes to make his joy perfect in us.