The Lost Sheep

Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,

Dear are the "ninety and nine";

Dear are the sheep that have wandered

Out in the desert to pine.

Hark! he is earnestly calling,

Tenderly pleading today:

"Will you not seek for my lost ones,

Off from my shelter astray?"

If a sheep were lost, what would you do?  If sheep were lost, what would the Savior do?   Did the Savior ever turn his back on the lost sheep?  Did the Savior simply attend weekly meetings to discuss / gossip about the lost sheep with other shepherds and perhaps pray for them and then consider the work done?  Would the Savior take actions to keep the lost sheep from the others or to isolate the lost sheep?  Would the Savior come by and offer feigned love and friendship via polite conversation or would he seek to understand the lost sheep and have a heart to heart discussion with the lost sheep to help bring that sheep back?  Would the Savior simply try to ignore the lost sheep?  

Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,

Dear are the sheep of his fold;

Dear is the love that he gives them,

Dearer than silver or gold.

Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,

Dear are his "other" lost sheep;

Over the mountains he follows,

Over the waters so deep.

Thankfully, for the lost sheep, the Savior does not use methods that hurt the lost sheep.  Thankfully, the Savior loves the lost sheep and knows how to care for them.  Thankfully, He leaves the other 99 to go and comfort and bless the lost sheep.

Matthew 18

12.   How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13.   And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14.   Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Thankfully, when the under shepherds fail to follow His example, He steps in and does the work of love himself.

Ezekiel 34

4.   The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

5.   And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

6.   My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

7.   Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

8.   As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

9.   Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

10.   Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

11.   For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12.   As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13.   And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14.   I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15.   I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

16.   I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Related Articles:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/02/parables-of-mercy?lang=eng

http://latterdaycommentary.com/2015/04/22/hedging-the-law-two-variations-on-a-theme/