The Good Shepherd & The Bummer Sheep
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was born in a barn, lain in a feeding trough. His first visitors weren’t family members or friends but a bunch of shepherds with quite a story to tell.
After being told by an angel some amazing news, seeing a multitude of angels sing God’s praises that light up the night sky, they took off into the tiny, sleeping town to search for the baby, the savior, the angels foretold. (Luke 2)
All the shepherds would have gone into Bethlehem which means allllll of the sheep came too. Right? The sheep would have naturally followed their shepherds and it wouldn’t have been safe to leave them on the hills by themselves anyway; they could have wandered off or gotten stolen… or eaten. That would have been baaaaaaaaad!
Think of the cacophony of sounds ( and smells): the bleating of sheep, their bells tinkling and clanking, the shepherds calling and whistling, all coming down the lanes looking for the baby Jesus. No wonder they were able to tell everyone they encountered. Their impromptu parade probably woke up the whole bleating town.
Could you imagine Mary & Joseph being introduced to these excited and possibly slightly embarrassed shepherds and their flock? I mean, at least it wasn’t The Little Drummer Boy, but it couldn’t have been much better. And yet, it says that Mary pondered all these things in her heart. Why would God tell shepherds about His son?
God told Mary she was going to give birth to the Son of God, but she didn’t know the whole picture then. She didn’t know that John the Baptist would call Jesus the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God was used to describe a lamb that was to be killed as a sacrifice on an altar to atone for one’s sins (or clean someone of their sins, a way to seek forgiveness for sins).
Jesus also says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11 & 14) In fact, in John 10, he talks a lot about sheep and being the gatekeeper for his sheep, he’s the gate, and the shepherd. Guess who the sheep are? BAAAAAAAA!
Somehow Jesus is simultaneously the Lamb of God as well as The Good Shepherd. We need him to be both! We cannot have a relationship with God without Jesus being the sacrificial lamb to bridge the giant gap that sin creates. (Romans 3:23) It is a gap too big to ever be able to cross ourselves. Only because of the cross (see what I did there) can the gap be closed. Once we accept Jesus as our own personal savior, we can call him our shepherd. We need Jesus to shepherd us, to teach us, in how to live lives pleasing to Him through reading the Bible and with the help of the Holy Spirit.
In another dichotomy, a few years ago, I came across the story of “A Bummer Sheep” that is such a beautiful depiction of just how good, how loving, how kind, how caring, how gentle our Good Shepherd is. But don’t be fooled. Shepherds are rugged, tough, willing to kill wolves, bears, & lions as well as protect their flock from thieves. They carried a rod and staff to protect their sheep as well as discipline them when needed. Again, we need both, don’t we? BAAAAAA!!!! (That’s yeah in sheep)
A BUMMER SHEEP
Author Unknown
Author Unknown
Every once in a while, an ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are many reasons she may do this. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Once an ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind. These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. Their spirit is broken. These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone. So, do you know what the shepherd does? He takes that rejected little one into his home, hand-feeds it and keep it warm by the fire. He will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to his chest so the bummer can hear his heartbeat. Once the lamb is strong enough, the shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock. But that sheep never forgets how the shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to him first? That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows his voice intimately. It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the one who loves it. It’s not that it is loved more, it just believes it because it has experienced that love one on one. So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But He (Our Father) is the good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heart beat. We may be broken but we are deeply loved by the Shepherd.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Do you feel like a Bummer Sheep? Have you been abandoned? Do you feel heartbroken to the point of death? Do you feel all alone? Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6) Will you hear his voice today? Will you ask him to be your shepherd?
Let’s Pray:
Jesus, I am so hurt. I am in such pain. I’ve been wounded by so many people. I’ve also hurt others. I have tried to do things my own way. I’ve tried to work things out on my own and nothing has worked. I know I’ve do a lot of wrong things. I’ve sinned against you, myself and others. I ask that you will forgive me of all the wrong things I’ve done. I repent of sinful life. Please come into my heart and get rid of all my pain, my shame, my guilt. Help me to make things right where I can and to let go of things I can’t. Shepherd me into knowing the right path. Thank you for your love and forgiveness. Amen.
If you said this prayer, you are no longer a bummer sheep but a member of a much bigger flock. Find a church that can mentor you, read your Bible (Bible App is a great place to start), let someone know you’ve made the best decision of your life. Drop me a line and let me know too.