¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ^[11]

¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Dear God, I have to say that I have always really liked this story. It is nice to be one of your children, and it is nice to know that you will come looking for me if I wander off. Of course, if I wander off, you will also let me live with some of the results of the mistakes I make while I am gone.

As a dad of teenagers, I can understand this concept. When they were in grade school it was easy to keep my eye on them and know that they were safe. Now that they are teenagers, however, it is harder to know. I have to let them wander a little. I am blessed in that neither of my kids has wandered too far or done anything that makes me fear, but I can easily see that fear sitting over my shoulder, waiting to grip me. So there are a couple of lessons here. First, it is okay to give your children age-appropriate freedom to live their lives and wander a bit, but, second, it is also important to go after and look for them if they wander too far.

Father, I don’t know how you do it. I have felt rejection as a father, but it is nothing compared with the rejection you feel as our father. I even reject you far too often, and make foolish decisions that must just frustrate you to no end. But you are merciful to me. You are kind to me. You love me. Help me to do the same for my children. And please forgive me for the frustrations that I cause you and those I love.