Some Sheepish Thoughts

Sometimes the Bible speaks of people as sheep. This is done popularly in the 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…”) and in the gospel of John, chapter 10 – where Jesus describes Himself as a good shepherd that takes care of His sheep. Both of these passages are popular selections that are commonly read at funerals, as well as other occasions.

Sheep are very dependent upon shepherds for their care. They need to be led to still waters, since they won’t drink from moving streams. Without the shepherd’s guidance they’ll die of thirst. They need to be led into grassy pastures to eat, and these were hard to come by in the Middle Eastern World where the Bible originated. Without those food sources they’d starve to death. And sheep need to be protected from predators – like wolves, foxes, jackals, etc. A sheep without a shepherd is a doomed creature.

It’s similar today in our relationships with house pets. Imagine what it would be like if we abandoned our pets and forced them to fend for themselves. Coyotes or foxes in the wild would kill many of the cats. Others might be able to subsist for a while on insects, small rodents, and baby rabbits – especially in the summer months. But it would be hard for them to continue through the winter. It would be similar for a lot of the dogs. They would probably turn ragged, wormed and sickly after a short time. Rodent pets like gerbils and hamsters would be easy prey for snakes, of course. And aquarium fish wouldn’t make it in a common creek or pond – especially in the winter.

It’s much like that in our relationship with God. Few people realize how helpless we are without Him. Every breath we breathe – from moment to moment – every second that life exists in our bodies is dependent upon Him. Without Him, we are doomed. This runs contrary to the popular notions of rugged independence and self-sufficiency that I hear from time to time:
“It’s my life and I’ll do what I want to do.”
“I’m a self-made man. Everything I have here I earned by myself.”
“Everything in here belongs to me. I don’t need someone else telling me how to live my life.”
“I don’t need God or a church. I’m happy with my life as it is.”

We live in a country where we can almost take it for granted that we have available food, health care, housing, etc. For many of us life also gives opportunities for vacations, entertainment, fine food, personal automobile ownership, and a host of other things. In such conditions it’s easy to forget about our dependence on God. Sometimes an attention-getting event has to happen to ring our bell and remind us about what’s really important.

A worldly mindset will change when we are forced to look at things with eternity in mind. The Bible says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there” (Job 1:21). All of our lives begin and end with our dependency on God – whether we like it or not. The sooner we reckon with that fact, the better off we are.

God bless you,

Andrew McHenry, Pastor
Maple Hill Community Congregational Church