There are several things we can learn from Jesus' parable of the lost sheep. First , the love of God is an individual love. The one statistically insignificant wanderer means everything to this Shepherd. Jesus is trying to convert us to the mentality of the single person, the importance of the statistically unimportant. Second, the love of God is a patient love.
Sheep are proverbially foolish animals.
They are not at all the clean, cuddly creatures they may appear to be. Sheep are also not very intelligent either, and they are wayward and obstinate. It would be easy to develop the attitude of indifference toward such a foolish creature, but here we see the patience of the shepherd and the care he demonstrates toward the one who has wandered. The shepherd is not like that. The sheep might be foolish indeed, but the shepherd will still risk his life to save it, for he is patient and loving.