“Give the Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.”
// Pierre deChardin
The Bible says we’re either a sheep or a goat. There are no others. To make it relevant to today, we will separate the sheep from the goats. I often wonder about this. Let’s connect the dots by compare and contrast.
Are you a goat? Do you like to be a goat? Are you sure you’re a goat?
Goats are communal. Where one goat goes, they all go. It’s best to separate the billys from the does or you’ll get a lot of kids. Have you ever tried to catch a baby goat?
Goats are destructive. They climb on everything. They strip the bark off trees, devour flowers, munch on Gardenia bushes… everything but Privet and Poison Ivy. When they see my silver scrap bowl coming, they bleat with excitement, which is a more pleasing sound than their screams.
When bored or fighting , the billys will rare up on their back legs and ram each other with their thick horns. They hit so hard that you can hear their horns rattle.
Are you a sheep? Are you sure you’re a sheep? Do you like being a helpless, dependent sheep? Sometimes I don’t exactly like being a sheep. So often I want to be the shepherd. But, there’s only one Shepherd. I’m so lost and vulnerable and head strong that I need someone else to lead who knows the end from the beginning. Is someone over you?
Sheep are shy and helpless. They possess a habit of always going astray, doing the wrong thing and losing their way back. Nobody likes to see livestock loose.
Sheep do not perceive danger lurking in on. They are attacked by all other animals, even the birds.
Sheep do strange things. When it’s storming, sheep will bunch up in the corner of a fence and smother one another. Sheep need a shepherd in the storm.
Sheep are dumb and fearful animals. They run at the slightest instigation. Baby Doll Sheep look funny when they run. When the sheep are not sheared, people stop to ask what they are. Some people guess they are miniature cows, bear cubs or four legged Ewoks. I think they look like a wolf in sheep clothing.
When they’re lost and bleating the loudest, they will run in the opposite direction from the flock! Do you still want to be a sheep? Baa-baa.
Shear that sheep. To all those who are lost sons and daughters, Jesus said, “I AM the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” He’s the Shepherd and the sheep. This paradox is one of my favorite symbols of Christ. It is most unusual and dynamic. I must see him day by day watching over me or I perish. I will never find my way back. When I go astray, run the other wy and do the wrong thing, he still comes back to seek and save.
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