Let’s Be Sheep!
Feb 14, 2020By Val Bantz
Sheep. Lots of sheep. Sheep around every bend. Sheep in every field. So many sheep I could fall asleep counting them all. :) Being from Iowa and used to seeing only cows, I delighted in the landscape of sheep on a trip to Ireland, Scotland and England this past October.
One singular sheep comes to mind. As we nervously drove on the left side of the road, we rounded a bend and there was ONE lone sheep standing on the yellow line at the edge of the lane. We honked at him, thinking he might move over and get out of the way of traffic. Did he even look up? No! He kept his head down as though he did not even hear or notice us. But he did give us the giggles as he “politely” lifted one of his hind legs, as if that would keep him from the danger of our oncoming car!
I’ve heard that sheep don’t pay any attention to anyone except their shepherd and that gave me some solid proof!
Psalm 100:3 calls us to “Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us and we are His; We are his people and the Sheep of His pasture.” According to this verse, who are we? Sheep. Whose are we? We belong to our Shepherd and His name is Jesus.
Since my trip, I’m trying to be more “sheep-like” in my walk with Jesus, and as a mentor, too. I find I need constant reminders that I AM indeed a sheep and NOT the Shepherd!
In applying this verse, who do I listen to? My Shepherd. Who controls my life? My Shepherd. Who keeps me safe from harm? My Shepherd.
Now I really don’t want to be that lone sheep on the side of the road. As carefree as he seemed to be, he was not safe. I’m wondering, was he ignoring his shepherd’s call? That sheep needed to come back into the safety, fellowship and community of the other sheep. Mentoring is a beautiful avenue of bringing fellow sheep into community.
Psalm 100:5 reminds us “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.” Another call for mentoring! We represent different generations, but we mentors and our mentees are just fellow sheep, doing life together. How do I know God was faithful to the generation before me? I ask for and listen to stories and the wise perspectives of godly, older women. And in turn, I show and tell of God’s faithfulness in my life to my mentees. And then I point out God’s faithfulness in their lives as they, too, follow and listen to their Shepherd Jesus.
So fellow mentors, let’s all be sheep...not the loner one on the side of the road!…but sheep who draw others into community and listen and tell of our Shepherd’s faithfulness to all generations!
Val Bantz serves on Team MORE and is a newby empty nester from Waukee, Iowa with passions in mentoring and generosity. She also loves coffee, walking and game nights!
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