Bleat!

Inspired by an email from my Tita Rosella, and a url that my friend Ryan showed me, I am writing a blog on sheep. I'm not a shepherd but I know a lot about sheep because... well, I am one. And this sheep is in need of a shepherd.

I'm glad Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was willing to fill in the shoes.

According to sheep101.info, band together in large groups for protection. It is harder for a predator to pick up a sheep for dinner when it's in a flock. If it's a stray though, he's chicken feed.

And so, even though I resisted the idea of belonging to a d-group for the longest time, I now belong in one. Church community helps. I do know it's when Veck and I don't go attend d-group much that we quarrel more often. I also know that during rocky September last year, it was friends from the d-group who came to help us and pray for us.

Bleat Info: When one sheep moves, the rest will follow. When one sheep plunges down a cliff to its death, the rest jump, too. You bleat, I bleat. You jump, I jump.

Dumb, dumb, dumb... I shake my head at these sheep. But if I'm not careful, I follow the leader, too. I follow leading celebrities, leading TV shows, leading trends and pop psychology. I am easily swayed here and there. So as a dumb sheep, I ought to set my eyes on Jesus. I ought to follow Him. Not easy, but if He scales down a cliff, He'll be there. Maybe He'll even carry me on His shoulders.

Bleat Info: Sheep depend heavily upon their vision. Sheep have a very large pupil that is somewhat rectangular in shape. The eyeball is placed more to the side of the head, which gives sheep a much wider field of vision. With only slight head movement, sheep are able to scan their surroundings.

Perfect! But as Christians, we are admonished to live by faith, not by sight, and to fix our eyes on Jesus. I can be reading my Bible and I look up and voila! A world of stimuli ready to provide distraction. Or I can be at church and my eyes wander around: Who's going out with who? Oh, look, is that the new girlfriend? Oh, **** is coming this way. I certainly don't want to say Hi just right now.

Bleat Info: Sheep have poor depth perception (three dimensional vision), especially if they are moving with their heads up.

That explains it. I look at the outward appearance of people around me, and if I don't move closer, then I never get to know them better. Sometimes I don't even want to get there. Just surface is enough--and boom! I've made my mind up on judgments about this or that character. It also means I can be easily fooled.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. Quite tough. I look at myself and I can't even see my own heart.

Bleat Info: Sheep have excellent hearing.

Excellent, it said. Now what am I listening to? The latest gossip? My own scheming thoughts? The chatter on TV? What was it that Jesus said? "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." So I need to be careful what I listen to.

Bleat Info: Healthy sheep are almost always hungry. They will overeat, if we let them.

On my desk now is an empty bag of McDonald's large fries, a cup of Coke Zero, styro package of this morning's breakfast of rice and eggs, the empty carton box of Fillet O' Fish, a bottle of Lipton... and I am still hungry. Now I am thinking of caramel sundae. Wait! I just had DQ Caramel Sundae.

Why can't I be hungry for the things of God? Like peace, and justice, and compassion and love? Or how about cultivating a hunger for God's Word. The truth is, the hunger is there. It's built-in. It's a sign of health. But what I choose to fill that hunger inside me with can be unhealthy. I can choose to fill this deep sadness with sugar, sexual thoughts, bitterness. Or I can ask God to fill me.

Bleat Info: While sheep are generally a docile, non-aggressive animal, this is not usually the case with rams. Rams can be very aggressive and have been known to cause serious injuries, even death, to people. A ram should never be trusted, even if it is friendly or was raised as a pet.

People who have had the [un]fortunate privilege of getting to know me know I am not always brotherly. That I can hurt. I have hurt a lot of people in my life, and the people I love more often. The secret is sometimes I don't even regret hurting some people in my life. So yeah, I can't be trusted entirely. My heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.

"Who really knows how bad it is?" Busted! But true.

"But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve."

So what do I know then. Not much, really. I am as dumb as a ram. You know, I heard before that when a sheep is specially disobedient--like straying off to wolf territory in spite of repeated warnings--his shepherd would break his legs. Ouch! But that way he can't move out on his own any more. Then the shepherd takes this sheep, puts him on his shoulders, and carries him the entire time till his legs are healed enough.

Jesus carried my sins on the cross two thousand years ago. He said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep."

I wonder how different my life would be with Jesus as my shepherd.

Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,*
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the LORD
forever.