Jesus said to his disciples,

12 “What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray? 13 If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Matthew 18:12-14 - World English Bible

In this passage from Matthew, Jesus mixed the image of the sheep and the "little ones." In context, Jesus spoke to his followers about children (Matthew 18:1-12), so to really understand the verses, we must investigate the status of children in ancient society.

The place of the child in the time of Jesus was the exact opposite of his or her place in modern, Western culture. Children lay at the bottom of the social ladder, where as elders stood at the top. Parents had children for primarily economic reasons; love was a secondary reason. Children were laborers that increased the worth of the clan as a whole and provided care for the parents in their old age. Since one half of all children died before the age of 16 (from many diseases we now vaccinate against), conditions encouraged people to have as many offspring as possible. So, the notion of a lost child ("sheep"), while tragic, would not bring the economic efforts of a clan to a standstill in a world where most people lived below a subsistence level. Yet, that was the ideal Jesus held up.

Now, consider the symbolic meaning of the term "child." It could refer to the core audience Jesus served (the outcast, the sinner, the ill) or it could refer to a fellow Christian (as a "child" of God). No matter the reference, however, Jesus desired extra attention paid to the lost child, the outcast in society, the errant sinner. This care was a key component of ministry.

How can you care for the "lost child" in your life this week?