That's where I had my aha moment. The reason the value of the sheep is more than $2.15 a pound is because the value is not decided by the sheep or even decided by the market. The value is determined by the shepherd. The shepherd said I will come and find you. You - even though you are a lost sheep - are important enough to me that I will do whatever it takes to bring you back.

The words of Frederick Buechner from his book, A Room Called Remember. "The words 'You shall love the Lord your God" become in the end, less a command than a promise. And the promise is that, yes, on the weary feet of faith and the fragile wings of hope, we will come to love him at last as from the first God has loved us - loved us even in the wilderness, especially in the wilderness, because he has been in the wilderness with us. He has been in the wilderness for us. He has been acquainted with our grief. And, loving him, we will come at last to love each other too so that, in the end, the name taped on every door will be the name of the one we love.' "

When you get to heaven - and Jesus says there will be an amazing banquet waiting for you - everyone will know everything about you. No secrets. No hidden agendas. And the person sitting next to you might be Jon Bon Jovi - or it might be the homeless man you see on the way home who is picking through the rubbish can looking for something to eat. It might even be that kid with the bloated stomach on the late-night commercial for World Vision. It could be a Raiders fan - or a Yankees fan or even a Republican or Democrat. And you will know everything about them - no secrets - no hidden agendas.

You will know their story - and they will know yours. And where you will find comfort in each others presence is knowing that both of you were forgiven for whatever sins your committed - you were freed from whatever addictions you suffered with and healed of the diseases and mental health challenges that you fought through. And none of it will matter.

One of the biggest questions we will ever wrestle with is: can we be absolutely, unfailingly certain we are going to heaven when we die. Working through that is one of the fundamental questions in life of a Christian - but even not-believers ask, "what happens when I die?"

When Jesus says, "Do you think I came to bring peace?" Our immediate reaction is, "yes - Jesus - Isaiah said you are the Prince of Peace - so we assumed you came to bring peace!" Jesus continues, "I have brought division." And that stops us cold. When He continues, "families are going to be divided over Me" - and gets very specific - we are lost and confused and hurt all at the same time. Why would Jesus do that?

We need to broaden our understanding by seeing these verses in context. When Jesus says, “ I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled” - that sounds crazy - like God is going to burn the whole world down. But if we go back to Luke 3:16 where John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" we find the context we need. God isn't going to burn the world down - He's going to purify it. And the way He is going to do that is by placing His Holy Spirit and the fire of His Gospel within His people.

This whole Gospel is about Jesus’ giving us a glimpse into the heart of God. And when I say heart - I'm not talking about the blood pumping organ - I'm talking about the very core of God's being. When St. John said, "God is love" - he wasn't trying to create a branding logo for God's Instagram or TikTok - he was stating a facet of who God is at His core.

Far too many people complain they don't know God or don't know enough about Him or are confused by His essence. If God's core is love - it allows us a glimpse of why He does things. Jesus said, "if you've seen Me - you've seen the Father." If we read the stories of Jesus in the Gospels - healing the sick, knocking tables over in the temple when people were being cheated, forgiving sinners, sacrificing Himself for the world - we get a very good idea of what God's heart is all about: LOVE.

The church isn't perfect - but it was given a gift from God to share with the world. I can't eliminate the pain and fears from your life - but I can promise you that you don't have to through them alone. When you confess your sins - when you lay your burdens before the cross - the stories are always difficult - and some people will never understand - but don't worry about them - some will - and that's the point.

Forgiveness is the justice of God. A society that has forgotten how to forgive can never be truly just. Because the best that justice can do is set the stage for forgiveness. Justice can’t make things right. Even forgiveness can’t make things right on its own – but forgiveness begins the process of reconciliation which leads to healing. It is not simple and it isn’t quick - but it all starts with forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t the end - it’s the beginning.