Living like Sheep: Knowing the Shepherd

I have been away for so long, too long if you ask me. Words are not enough to denote my feelings about this, nothing I say can justify my feelings, so I will say this, "I am sorry". Happy New Year to you.

If you have ever seen a herd of sheep, spent time with them and their shepherd, life would seem boring to you. Yes the life of a sheep to you as a human being seems like the most boring thing ever, but then that is only because you are not a sheep. So why sheep?

I believe the life of any sheep is fully dependent on the shepherd, it can be whatever the shepherd decides it to be. Guess what, it is the same life, day in day out, the same life the sheep leaves. When I say the same life, I do not speak of activities alone, I speak of guidance (whether good or bad). As we well know, there are good shepherds, bad shepherds, hirelings, good sheep and bad sheep, all within one flock. I could write an entire post on this, but that is not the aim or point of this post.

I believe the one thing that is most abused on the earth by us humans is "free will". The ability to think for ourselves and make decisions for ourselves as put many people asunder. We see the right path and intentionally choose wrong, we know to go right and actually choose left. We do the silliest of things, myself included get ourselves in all sorts of trouble. Yes we have a Shepherd, but the truth is many of us do not know how to live like sheep. So using John 10, here are some characteristics of sheep.Will take them one after the other in this post and subsequent ones.

• Knowing the Shepherd's voice: It should be clearly stated at this point, that you cannot know your shepherd's voice unless you know the Shepherd. Now there are many different shepherds within the fold. There are good shepherds, bad shepherds and then there are hirelings. In the same way there are so many men of God in the world today along with many different churches. In this case, I believe the key is trust. Do you trust your Pastor/Shepherd? How do you know he/she is for real? I believe the answer to this question can be found in John 10:2-3. Only the ones who enter via the gate are Shepherds. Brings to mind Jesus saying this "I am the way, the truth and the Life, no one (absolutely no one) comes to the Father except by me". In the same way, no one should get to the flock except through Him.

Now saying that the Shepherds can only come in through the gate, one has to understand clearly, that there are other means of getting into the fold. John 10: 1 says that anyone who does not enter by the gate but by any other way is a thief and a robber. 

Dear Christian, in knowing the voice of your shepherd, in trusting that shepherd, beware false teachers and false prophets, beware the shepherds that came in by other ways because Jesus clearly warned us in John 10:10 that all they come to do is steal and destroy. Beware of the hirelings, I have written on this before but I see it fit to say it again.

A Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, I look around me nowadays and see so many "shepherds" who do no such thing and I wonder, how do they come in? Looking at Ezekiel 34, you will see that God is referring to shepherds, not false ones but the ones that were already within the fold. Little wonder that Christ has now become the door through which everyone should enter.

Till next week Monday, when I hope to continue this..

Have a lovely week ahead.

Nobody is perfect, it is Christ working in us, renewing our hearts and minds daily. It is Him alone that shows himself perfect in the lives we live.