One Last Sheep Sermon

to throw of the shackles of sheepdom and embrace the life of a leopard. His kill lay before him -- hundreds of pounds of rich, red, meat, just waiting for him to sink his teeth into it.

So Lance went up and began to feast. It was disappointing. He looked where he had bitten and found out why: his teeth had just scraped away some of the hair from the mule’s skin. He hadn’t taken out a big, satisfying chunk of meat, he had just given a few square inches of the dead mule a shave.

He continued trying to eat the mule, but to no avail. And as he tried, the farmer, who had leapt from the runaway wagon, came back with a piece of rope, put it around Lance’s neck, and dragged him back to the shepherd. There were no hard feelings -- the farmer figured that Lance was a lost sheep and the poor little guy must have simply FALLEN from the bluff. The idea of a sheep deliberately attacking a farmer and his mule was so ridiculous that it never even entered his mind. And so Lance returned to the flock.

So, what have we learned? Number one, we have learned that it is often frustrating and annoying to be one of a flock. The flock doesn’t always do what we want it to do, and it doesn’t always listen when we complain.

We’ve also learned that it is always possible to throw off the burden of the flock and strike out on our own, abiding by any rules we choose, making up our own rules as we go, or having no rules at all.

There are plenty of things in life that are worth leaving behind. And there are plenty of rules in life that are worth changing or disobeying or ignoring. But Lance learned -- and maybe we should take a hint -- that when we start looking for new ways of doing things, we need to be prepared for the consequences of leaving behind the OLD life. And in the end, even if we get exactly what we’ve looking for, it might not be good for us, or even very enjoyable.

Jesus told his detractors, "You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep." And my guess is they didn’t have any problem with that. After all, who wants to be a sheep?

But Jesus went on -- "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Sure, nobody wants to be a sheep, to be one of the flock. Still, the fact remains, THE SHEEP are WITH THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEPHERD IS WITH THE FLOCK. And when we get separated, things can get very strange very quickly.

But if we follow the shepherd, we can expect his guidance, and his care. And it is the care of one who knows our troubles and our fears better than we know them ourselves, and one who will always lay down his life for ours. Our shepherd Jesus says, "I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and NO ONE shall snatch them out of My hand." ✢