Hi folks, sorry this post is late but I had computer problems....
So anyway, Russell phones me up and says can I come up to his farm at Pingelyfor the weekend and give him a hand as he has a few small jobs on? Not being too smart, I say no worries, pack the wife and dog in the car (not necessaryily in that order), and up we go.
Of course the first job is to move some sheep from the top paddock, across a road, and into some pens for crutching. A stinking hot day(due to a dead fox hanging on the fence), me on a quad bike, Russ in his ute, and Russ' indefatigable kelpie-cross called Donny, all trying to move 70 head in one group. When do the small jobs start?!
Don't know if any of you have herded sheep, but it is a frustrating job; one wrong move and they scatter hell, west, and crooked. One will break away and a whole group will mindlessly follow, and if it hadn't have been for Donny (who had more smarts than Russ and I put together), I doubt we would have got the job done.
All-in-all sheep are pretty silly, helpless creatures, and as toey as a groom at the alter.
Which of course hits home when Jesus - a country lad Himself who probably new more about sheep than we do - refers to us as sheep!
So after the job is done and we are having a break on the back porch I noticed Russell's wife, Claire, being followed around by three juvenille sheep as she did some chores. Russ explained that his missus had nurtured them when they had been orphaned during the lambing season. Hand-fed and well mothered when they were young, they now followed Claire everywhere when she was outside, and would come to her when she called to them...evem the one called "Mint Sauce".
When I look at John 10, I see the Pharisees like our mob of 70, driven and skittish as they try to obey the Law. Instead of bringing them closer to the Shepherd they get scattered and confused. It is only when we learn to trust a Person, when we draw near to the Loving Hand, that we can feel safe.
We should rejoice for our Lord knows us and love us, and wants us to draw near so that we may fearlessly obey Him; we should rejoice in that He holds us close and will never let us go.
Shalom,
JB
3 comments:
He is such a safe shepherd!
Hearing his voice and following like sheep is very counter cultural in this individualistic and democratic society.
Hearing his voice requires some tuning as there is a lot of static and interference out there.
Following like sheep requires us to really die to self and take a deliberate path away from the things and ways of the natural world.
It should be easy, and I believe it is easy, but I am still on my trainer wheels on this one.
God is speaking and God is acting - to us, in us through us. He is changing us from glory to glory and as we seek him and allow him to nurture us and change us from the inside out.
I had a 40th catch-up in Jurien bay on the weekend with a lot of old friends. God is making connnections on many levels with a lot of people that are coming back in my life and hopefully using me as a conduit and seed planter. Be available and be open and the field looks suddenly very much ready for harvest. I have had a chance to share my journey with a lot of people lately.
It has taken me 40+ years but I am now happy to be a sheep. Having come from a sheep farm I also know that there are many types of sheep with many differing characteristics. I'm one of the kingdom herd but happy to know that I have my own groove within the flock.
Thanks JB and Garry, As a city girl through and through, I am grateful for this insight on what is likely to have been Jesus's perspective of us - given his choice of analogy.
Long may I bleat, obediently after our Lord, THE shepherd ;)
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