Lessons From the Barnyard
By
Jeannine Sawall
"My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out
of My hand."
John
10:27-28 (NIV)
Do you ever wonder why
the Lord calls us His sheep? There are a lot of lessons we can learn about our
Christian walk from the barnyard if we just stop and look for a
moment. Sheep are animals who long to be with their Shepherd. When he
calls, they respond. They love to be in community with other sheep and
don’t often wander from the flock. They are content to just sit and graze
on the lush grass and will only move on when the Shepherd calls to the flock.
And a sheep desires to be clean. They try to avoid the thickets that will catch
in their wool and entrap them. If they get mud on them, they do whatever they
have to to clean the mud off their wool, unlike a pig, who likes to stay and wallow
in the mud.
As Christians, it would
do our spiritual lives good if we adopted “sheeply” behaviors. When the Lord
calls, do we respond immediately? Do we recognize His voice above all
others? Do we long to be in the company of other believers encouraging one
another? And if we have wandered off, do we respond as soon as we hear His
voice and hurry back? Do we find His Word nourishment on a daily basis and
contentedly take in the lessons He’s teaching us until He moves us forward? And
how do we deal with the sin in our lives? Do we avoid the temptations that
easily ensnare and entangle us, or do we head straight for the thicket? When we
find ourselves in sin, do we casually excuse it with the phrase "Everyone
sins!" and continue in the filth like a pig, or do we do whatever it takes
to turn 180 degrees, remove the dirt from us and continue to sin no more?
The Lord calls us His
sheep for a good reason. They provide a vivid image on how to respond to our
Lord. Sheep long to be with each other and the Shepherd more than anything
else. And even if we wander, the Shepherd comes after us, wanting us to respond
to His promptings. We need to go no further than a barnyard to learn these
spiritual lessons. The Shepherd is calling to us; it's our privilege to respond
like a sheep to His voice.
GOING DEEPER:
1. How do you
respond when you hear the Good Shepherd’s voice calling you?
2. What do you do
when you find yourself in sin?
FURTHER READING:
Jeannine
is a wife and mother of four active boys. She works in property management,
serves in Café and actively ministers to those walking through grief.
