So Simple a Design, So Simple a Truth

Oh, how the truth of that story, and this design, speaks  after thousands of years!

You know the one. The shepherd is out with his sheep when one wanders off while munching on the hillside.   Jesus used that story to explain to the Pharisees why he spent time with ‘sinners’ rather than holed up with his day's righteous, religious leaders. He joyfully rescues the wayward ones and rejoices when he could find that individual sheep. (Luke 15)

We recently had a wonderful speaker at our October conference, Dave Patty, who described what he had learned about sheep, especially from his father. The more he revealed their character, the more we attendees glimpsed ourselves in those wooly bunglers. Some of those ways:

--we stick together to avoid danger,

--we don’t like change,

--we don’t trust anyone,

--above all, we are hard-headed creatures!!

That is what sheep owners know, and we don’t! The Heavenly Shepherd knows it too, and about us!

The ninety-nine obedient sheep get left on that hillside so he can search for that missing stray. Aren't we just like that one adventurous sheep?  Don't we ‘wander’ off in search of the good life and get so engrossed that we lose sight of the flock? That place is where the wolf lurks, where it can make us his dinner! Or where we fall into a ravine, or thieves snatch us... you get the picture. And we are too dumb even to know our danger.

Many of us have been ‘the one’ who met threats out there alone, got hauled back on the shepherd’s shoulder, and shared the goodness of the One who did not give up on them.  We have felt that patience, that care.

God's love for stubborn creatures like us is even more awesome, in the real meaning of that word—an awe-inspiring wonder! He isn't just the hired help, he loves us and he left his Holy Spirit to live within his flock, the flock we become when we give over our right to choose to Him.

He is still doing it, that small voice in our ears calling us to Him, to follow! I have known it, have you?

Are you keeping close to that shepherd or are you seeking a greener pasture just a little further from his care?

Whether a tattoo design as the image above was designed originally or a truth etched into our soul, the poignant reality remains. We humans may be stubborn but He is more stubbornly searching still!

Image attributed to Rory Roer of sisters keep drawinggg, found on Pinterest.