SHEEP

Started Scouting the Divine this weekend.  It's a great book, by the way!  It's been sitting on my shelf since Catalyst last fall.  For some reason, the author just didn't resonate with me ... until I picked it up this week and found it to be a treasure.  It really is the author's journey to bridge the ancient world in which Scripture was written with the world we live in today ... and to find those "aha" moments we all desire to have where God's Word clicks into place in our lives.  In her words, scouting the divine means, "looking for the ordinary and extraordinary moments where God intersects our world."  She took some of the big motifs and explored them: sheep (did you know there are over 700 references to sheep in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation?), harvest, honey, and vine.  Can't wait to see what's next!

SHEEP
I have always had this love thing for sheep ... I even had sheep stuff in my dorm room my freshman year of college (yeh, country was "in" then!)  I am drawn to them everytime I drive down Milledge past the university's farm and see them out grazing.  There's just something about them that is so stinkin' adoreable.  Plus, thy get a bum rap for being "dumb" and all ... and who doesn't love an underdog?  The author had the privilege of spending a couple of days with a shepherdess, seeing how she interacts with her sheep and even talking about Scripture that talks about the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep.  Here are some things that stuck out to me:

First ... I mean, you can't tell me those are not CUTE!!

1. Shepherds truly were "lowly" ... usually the youngest and weakest in the family were given teh job of tending the flock.  Think of David as a young man.  We're talking children, elderly, women.  Everyone else had something more important to do!

2. Sheep require boundaries to protect them not only from predators, but also from eating too much or getting into poisonous plants, or walking off a cliff.  SO, when Jesus says he is the "door" ... it sets him up as protector and provider.  Ahhhhhh, sweet! 

3. Sheep really DO know the voice of their shepherd, IF the shepherd spends time with his/her sheep.  And one of my favorite parts of this section was the account of how calling "sheep, sheep" and they would come running at the sound of her voice.  AND, she names each and every one of them ... and knew the nuances that made them all unique and different.  Such a sweet and personal relationship.

4. "Good" Shepherds really do count their sheep ... and they really will leave to find the one ... because a sheep that doesn't come when the shepherd calls is either sick or hurt or lost.  And a sheep left alone will be quick to give up.

5. Shepherds lead from the FRONT, rather than the BACK.  Pushing sheep makes them respond in fear and anxiety.  Pushing = Agitation.  Anyone can lead by pushing.  Leading in such a way that those behind you want to follow is the art.  WOW!!!

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." ..."I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."  (John 10:1-18)

Lastly ... Sheep are not dumb, they are defenseless. They may live in a brood and walk in a straight line, but in that they trust each other immensely. One of the most amazing things that still resonates in my head is the answer to this question, "What kind of odds for survival do you give a sheep without a shepherd?' "ZERO"  Sheep left on their own, even for a few days will not survive ... without teh guidance, protection, and leading of a shepherd, they will not only have problems, they will DIE!  That makes me look at Matthew 9 in a whole new way as I've come to understand more about the heart of a shepherd for her sheep.  She does not see them as dumb ... but instead, as HELPLESS,  in need or protection, guidance, and provision.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Mt. 9:36