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You were redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Maybe you’ve heard this story.  I’ve seen it on various websites and in devotional booklets, so I’m not even sure of its origins, but it’s worth repeating.

In New Zealand, large herds of sheep are led by shepherds who have learned how to solve a very specific problem.  During that time of year, when ewes give birth to lambs, it occasionally happens that a ewe dies in childbirth, leaving a lamb motherless.  In the same herd, a lamb may be born dead or die shortly after birth, leaving the ewe childless.  

In the past, the shepherds tried giving an orphaned lamb to a childless ewe, hoping she would accept it as her own, nurse it, and care for it. This plan did not succeed.  It seems ewes recognize their own lambs by scent, so sensing the orphaned lambs were not their own, they rejected the babies, leaving them to die if not for intervention from the shepherds.

So, the shepherds tried a different tactic.  They took the blood of the dead lambs and smeared it on the orphaned lambs.  After the blood of her natural born lamb covered the orphaned lamb, the ewe would adopt the orphan, feeding and caring for it as her own.

Wow! It’s a striking picture, and one that helps us understand the gospel.

God has only one natural-born Son: Jesus Christ. Scripture describes Him as “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19). 

Scripture also describes us as sheep who have gone astray; sinners separated from God (Isaiah 53:6).

Because God is perfectly holy, sin separates us from Him:

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God.” (Isaiah 59:2)

But God, in His mercy, had a plan.

Colossians 1:21–22 explains it this way:
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

And John 1:12 declares:
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Jesus, the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), laid down His life for the sinful sheep. Through His blood, we are reconciled to God. Covered by Christ’s righteousness, we are no longer rejected outsiders, but welcomed and adopted as God’s own children.

Apart from Christ, we remain separated. But through the blood of God’s one and only Son, we are brought into His flock to be loved, and cared for as His own children.

This is one of my favorite illustrations of why Christ died for me while I was still a sinner.  God did not have to provide a way for us to be reconciled to Him, but He did because He loves us and wants a relationship with us.  Thank you, Father, for making the ultimate sacrifice so that I could be called Your child.