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
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 and is a part
of the Special Events team for Oakwood’s We Women ministries.
