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Message From Pastor Peggy  July 19, 2020

I couldn’t believe it. There were four there the night before. I was sure there were. I counted again. Three. There were only three.

 My heart began to pound, pumping a little faster. I went outside. No, not one there. I went back inside. Only three. It doesn’t take long to count three. One can’t make a mistake counting three. There were three and only three … but there had been four. One was missing and I felt sick. Really sick. How would I ever explain this one? How could I have lost one? How could I have been so irresponsible? How could I possibly make it right? A life was at stake. Was. Now it was no more. What could have gone wrong? 

You see I had made a promise to my neighbours that I would take care of their four hens and two chicks while they were away. Ron and I had cared for them before and quite enjoyed the task. They were fun to watch. They were a joy to hear clucking. And it was a treasure to find four eggs every morning. These girls were like family to our neighbours and she entrusted us, not once but twice, to care for them. They were each named. Their little personalities identifiable in their actions and attitudes. (Although I was told who was who, I could only remember and identify one – the brown hen among three white ones, the one that laid the brown egg!). For safety, each night they were put into the hen house by 8 p.m. and allowed to run freely again in the morning for the day. When I went to put them in I was surprised that they had all already nestled in for the night. No one in the run. All in the hen house. Made my job easy. After a quick check of food and water I turned on the fan, checked the lamp, shut and secured the doors to the run and the coop, and headed home. All was fine. That is until I returned in the morning and there were only three hens in the hen house. 

Although my neighbour would readily know which one was unaccounted for – all I knew was that one white one was gone! Gone!! Had I counted to four incorrectly? Had I only thought the run was empty? Had one been nestled in the grass unbeknown to me? How could I have been so careless?

 I went out to the run. With coyotes and wild life in abundance, if one had been left out overnight it would be certain to be a dead duck chicken. But there were no feathers. No sign of fowl foul play, or death. Perhaps it had flown the coop during the day and was on the run. But if that were the case – it would have made a delicious midnight snack and wouldn’t be seen again. 

How would I explain this to my neighbours? I didn’t even know when I had lost it or how! I felt sad, irresponsible, and although I knew that grace would be offered to me, deep down my neighbours would be devastated because these were their babies. The ones they loved, nurtured, named, raised from little chicks, cared for, were proud of. The hen mama could even identify which hen laid which egg! Now one of these beloved was gone – I had blown it.

I opened the lid on the roost and retrieved the three fresh eggs. There should be four. There were three – another stark reminder of the great loss. 

I wondered if I should leave the hens in the coop for the day. Having lost one I was very protective of not losing another – especially when it had happened so easily that I didn’t even know how it had. I was entrusted and I failed.

 I kept counting the hens as if I had made a mistake on the myriad of previous counts, as if there would miraculously be four again. I watched them peck and scratch outside. I went back in the coop and cared for the two chicks. I decided to check the water in the hens’ portion of the coop. It was then that I noticed her. Nestled behind the big block of wood that supported the watering bottle, was the missing hen. She was actually peeking out from around the block right at me, her body concealed by the wood! She was there and she was ALIVE!! And I was relieved! It was like the prodigal son coming home – albeit she had never left the farm! I thought of the woman who lost a coin and swept and swept until she found it. I thought of the shepherd who had 100 sheep, left the 99 and went searching for the one that was lost. When each was found or returned home, there was great rejoicing. I was rejoicing and this was just a chicken.

 It all made me think of how God rejoices over each of us – especially those who were lost and then found. He loves each one (John 3:16), nurtures each one (Psalm 57:4), cares for each one (Matthew 6:26-34), created each one in the womb (Psalm 139:13), and sings over each one (Zephaniah 3:17). And it is His will that none be lost (Matthew 18:14).

 I know how I felt over this one chicken. I can’t begin to imagine how God feels over one lost soul. And I began to think of my responsibility to the lost in light of my responsibility to my neighbours. If I felt so sick over the possibility of losing my neighbours’ hen, and I didn’t even know which one she was – how much more should I be sick over one of God’s precious ones – each of whom He knows by name and by the number of hairs on the head (Luke 12:7)? 

When the lost, now found, hen joined the others in the run I checked the water. It was then that I looked down in the shavings and spied the fourth egg!! In fact, there were two eggs there!! Four hens. Five eggs! Everything even better than it should be! There was indeed great rejoicing! How much more so will there be each time someone finds and places their faith in Christ? Will you join me as we look for the those who do not yet know the love of Jesus that they might know the joy of being found, that they might know the joy of being loved unconditionally. Perhaps you are reading this and you consider yourself one of the lost ones. What’s stopping you from running back to your Heavenly Father that He might rejoice over you, lavish you with His love and grace?

Have a great week!
Peggy

Read Luke 15 for the parable of the lost sheep, lost coin, lost son. This chapter opens: “all the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1,2). So Jesus addressed their concerns by telling three parables, one of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son with them. There is great rejoicing, and a call to rejoice with, when each is found: “Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!” (Luke 15:6); “Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!” (Luke 15:9); “… let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! So they began to celebrate. … We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:23,24,32).