Yes, I know. Another blog about animals two weeks in a row. If you know me, you know I love animals. i own two pets. A cockatiel and a fish. Lately the subject of sheep has caught my eye. I recently read about them in a devotional book I try to read every morning called "Daily in Christ" by Neil T. Anderson. In his devotional he discussed the topic of sheep. Sheep are interesting creatures. Truthfully, they are extremely dumb. They have been known to stand five feet away from a barn door in the pouring rain and have no sense to just walk into the barn. They have also been known to eat so much as they are grazing a field that they can eat themselves to death. Truth be told, sheep need something or someone in their lives to direct them. We call it a shepherd!
I have never met a shepherd or seen one in action. I have been told that they are important in the life of every sheep. They know how to control a flock of sheep. When they stand up and walk away, the sheep follow him. They might whistle and the sheep will run to them. If sheep have no shepherd, they become disoriented and scatter. Many times a ram will arise from the flock and butt heads to determine who will lead. Sheep need a shepherd. Someone who will lead them. I think it's amazing how all a shepherd needs to do is walk away or call his sheep so that they will quickly run to them and follow immediately. A shepherd's staff is used for two reasons. Sometimes to poke the sheep who tend to wander but also as a hook to pull the sheep towards them who try to wander away.
If you look at this from a biblical perspective, it all makes sense. One thing does bother me but I do find humor in it. That one thing is that Jesus refers to us as His sheep. Of course He is the Great Shepherd who leads us. But in reality, Jesus is calling us dumb if you think about it. Truthfully, many times we are dumb. We do our own thing, we wander away, we think we have all the answers. Like the sheep who is standing in the pouring rain five feet away from a barn door, we allow worry and fear to pour down on us without running to the Lord for shelter. We wander away like sheep doing our own thing and losing our way. We need a shepherd to guide us and give us direction. That is why Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd. We need to follow Him and not wander away. But, we are human and we make mistakes. It is not God's will for us to be lost or wander away. We do have a free will but we do have a choice. Follow the Good Shepherd or wander away. When sheep wander away, they can be devoured by other hungry animals such as coyotes, bobcats or mountain lions. When we wander away, the enemy, the devil would love to devour us. Of course we know that scripture says in 1 John 4:4 - "Greater is he that is in me, then he that is in the world." Satan has no rule over us and cannot devour us because we have not only a Good Shepherd but a Great Shepherd Jesus who will do everything in His power not to allow one of his children to wander!
ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!
No comments:
Post a Comment