“That little black lamb you see... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

And when [the Shepherd] has found [the lost sheep], he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!
Luke 15:5–6

“That little black lamb you see jumping around the farm often reminds me of God’s Word,” a farmer’s wife in Belgium once told me.

“Once, this little lamb fell into a well. You could hear it bleating, but we didn’t know where it was. Finally, my husband discovered it deep down in the well, where it could just barely keep its head above water. We saw no other way to save it than to lower our son into the well.”

“Our boy agreed for he was fond of the lamb. My husband carefully lowered him deeper and deeper on a rope. At last the sound came up: I can see the lamb! To save it, he had to go all the way down into the ice-cold water. With great effort, he managed to lift the animal onto his shoulders. The climb was difficult. Finally, however, he reached daylight again with the black lamb.”

If we do not yet know Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, the story of the little black lamb is a good picture. We too find ourselves in a hopeless situation and that makes us restless, unhappy and afraid. We do not know how to get out. We are left only to face death and being eternally lost.

But the “good shepherd”, the Lord Jesus Christ, wants to help us and save us. He died for us to redeem us from eternal death. How infinitely great is His love! He is waiting for us to cry out to Him, “Jesus … have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47).

Today’s reading: 2 Samuel 22:1-19 · John 1:14-18