The Good Shepherd Finds You

Have you had a mid-faith crisis? Are you in one now? One of the hardest parts of this experience is the loss we feel along the way. We may have lost friends and family, church and community, beliefs and identity. We may even feel like we’ve lost Jesus.

Luke 15:1-7 ESV Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

But unlike the many “wolves” who use God’s name to harm and not to heal, Jesus is the good shepherd. He doesn’t employ the silent treatment when we fail to perform. In fact, Jesus disoriented the “good” religious people by constantly hanging out and eating with “sinners,” those who had no standing in the religious community.

When the “good guys” complained about this, Jesus asked a question. If you had one hundred sheep and lost one, wouldn’t you go looking for it? Wouldn’t you celebrate joyfully when you found it? Wouldn’t you hold it close?

Experiencing a faith crisis isn’t sinful; turning away from toxic religious institutions or manipulative leaders, or unhelpful doctrine can be a step towards and not away from goodness. But it can also be lonely and disorienting.

Friend, if this sounds like your experience, remember that you are not alone. You have brothers and sisters experiencing a mid-faith crisis, too, and Jesus would rather come find you than stay with the ninety-nine back in the fold. Jesus is willing to carry you in his arms, even—and especially—when you feel the most lost, the most far away.

Adapted from Mid-Faith Crisis: Finding a Path Through Doubt, Disillusionment, and Dead Ends by Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague.