Have you ever wondered why, as a Christian, you keep experiencing
problems?
Just imagine for a minute that you are a shepherd. You’re not a
computer programmer. You’re not a teacher. You’re not a mechanic.
You’re
not a mommy. You’re not a daddy. You’re just a simple, ordinary
shepherd
and your job is to lead sheep.
Now imagine that you have a flock of 10 sheep. You don’t have 100
sheep. You don’t have 50 sheep. You don’t have five sheep. You have 10
sheep. From the time they were born, you’ve raised these sheep from the
lead ram to the 3 ewes and their growing offspring. You’ve taken them
from the pen you built with your own hands to lead them up into the
hills, away from the noisy, dusty village where you live so you can get
them fresh grass and clean water. You have a long sturdy rod to help
you
climb over rocks and it’s turned out to be very useful for beating off
predators such as wolves and lions. You also have a long crooked staff
which your dad made for you so you can reach out and grab a wandering
sheep before it can get into trouble. This saves a lot of time and
effort, running after the occasional willful sheep.
Meet Wilbur --- that sheep which is most often willful, stubborn,
dumb, refusing to listen to you, refusing to follow his mother’s
leading
or his father’s leading. There’s even been a time or two when he’d
wander off and take some of the other young sheep with him. When you
show him the easiest path, you can bet Wilbur is going to clamber up on
some boulder and fall down, getting beat up and dirtied up. Wilbur
almost always has a limp from some new injury. The wolves and the lion
know Wilbur personally. You’ve had to beat them off time and again when
Wilbur lagged behind or scampered too far ahead. He’s even got the scar
of an old bite mark on his right flank from the time he got lost for
several hours the first day you took him out with the herd.
When you’ve got all the other sheep settled down to rest in the
meadow with the cool stream trickling nearby, enjoying the shade of the
large trees, you’re out looking for Wilbur. You find him wandering
around a dry sinkhole with the lion studying him from an overhanging
rock formation.
You walk toward Wilbur, talking gently - not yelling as you would
like.
"Come on, Wilbur, the others are in the meadow waiting for us. Let’s
go get some nice grass and a good drink of water."
He runs away from you, bleating, "No-o-o-o, I just know if I
l-o-o-o-k for it myse-e-e-elf, I can find an even be-e-e-eter
me-e-e-adow and c-o-o-o-oler wa-a-a-ater."
You explain calmly, "Wilbur, my Father has taught me that the only
meadow and the only water are where I want to lead you. The others know
to follow me and they are there waiting for you."
But Wilbur argues, "No-o-o-o-o, that’s too-o-o-o e-e-e-easy!
I-I-I-I-I want to do-o-o-o it myse-e-e-elf. These de-e-ead we-e-e-e-ds
are alright to e-e-e-eat. I-I-I-I-I’m a ba-a-a-ad shee-e-e-e-p. These
We-e-e-eds are a-a-a-all I deser-r-r-r-rve."
He wanders around sniffing and tasting the old dusty weeds in the
sinkhole and you decide to let him learn for himself that those nasty
old weeds won’t satisfy him. The lion raises up, keeping an eye on you
while he maneuvers around for a better shot at Wilbur. That lion knows
what you can do with that rod, but if he’s fast enough and if Wilbur
will just cooperate, he figures he might be able to grab him and get
out
before you can get to him.
You explain in a firmer tone of voice. "Wilbur, that lion is going to
grab you and eat you if you don’t stop being willful and stubborn and
follow me out of here."
But Wilbur won’t even speak to you now. He wanders behind a large
boulder, bringing him even closer to the lion and out of your sight.
You
sigh in exasperation and start walking over to get him when you hear
his
loud bleating.
"HE-E-E-ELP! These wee-e-e-eds taste baa-a-a-ad and now I-I-I-I-I’m
SI-I-I-ICK! I-I-I-I ne-e-e-ed some wa-a-a-ater!"
You stand over him, resigning yourself to picking him up and carrying
him one more time. You take the opportunity to whack that lion over the
head one time with your rod just to teach him to stay away from your
sheep. At least Wilbur had the sense to ask for help when he got in
trouble. You pick him up and carry him out of the hole as Wilbur hangs
his head in shame and still sick.
In the meadow, the sheep have eaten their fill of the clean, fresh
grass and other nourishing plants and they have enjoyed the cool water
and are ready to head back to the village for the night. You set Wilbur
down and watch him limp away to get as much food and water as he can
before it’s time to go but you can’t help but notice that he’s getting
thinner and thinner each day. He just will not learn to follow where
you
lead.
As you turn to go, Wilbur is once again lagging behind and the
shadows are growing darker as you head back toward the lights of home
and the safe pen where you keep your sheep at night. You can hear the
wolves howling not too far away and you are always aware of the
menacing
presence of the lion. You stop to count your sheep…
One-Two-Three-Four-Five-Six-Seven-Eight-Nine….Where’s Wilbur?
"HE-E-E-ELP! Ma-a-a-aster, I-I-I-I’m LO-O-O-OST!"
By the Leading of the Holy Spirit
Merrellee Moore - 4/22/98
