Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference

by Desmond Tutu

God’s regard for our freedom does not leave us to our own devices to muddle through our choices on our own. The shepherd of Luke’s Gospel parable lets us see that God honors our choices yet seeks us out. “Which one of you,” Jesus asks, “having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” God is that shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep who have not been troublesome to go in search of the one that is lost. Can you believe it? He leaves ninety-nine perfectly good sheep, sheepish sheep, to go in search of one, and that one not intent on returning! Biblical literature is peppered with prophets who call the people back to God. In this role they are like the shepherd seeking out the lost sheep. In our own time there are individuals and organizations that serve a similar function. The ones that call our attention to environmental degradation and global warming exercise something of the prophetic function. Peace activists and human-rights campaigners who tell us truths we know but try to forget also speak in the prophetic voice. The function of the prophets was not to forecast doom but to call us back to a better way of living. Their task was and is to call us back to wholeness. But it is still our choice.