This self-effacing God delights in showering His favor upon those of low estate. He lifts up the humble, reaches out to the downtrodden, welcomes the outcast, and befriends the foreigner.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep bursts through the confines of convention and demands that we embrace the messiness of life and the unpredictable ways in which God's grace and forgiveness operates.
In many cases, the expectations are not realistic. Sometimes we expect things to be much better than they could possibly be. On the other hand, sometimes our expectations are far too low.