Jesus the Shepherd ~ Listening 2

Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.   Job 34:4

Yesterday I began this lesson from chapter 14 of Meeting God in Quiet Places: The Cotswold Parables by F. LaGard Smith on listening to Jesus our Shepherd. I ended with a question about listening to the wrong voice. I'll continue this morning by, first of all, quoting LaGard. He says: "Indeed have we begun to listen to our own voice? Do we dream our own dreams and attribute them to the voice of God? Do we read into Scripture what we want to find? Have we begun to say, 'God said to me...' even when it may run counter to a clear biblical teaching? What a tragedy it would be if we ourselves became the 'stranger among God's sheep'!"

Remember...there is a "mothering up" or bonding process that sheep go through, so they know the sound of their mother's voice, and the voice of the shepherd. We must go through that same "mothering up" process, so that we will follow God's leading and not listen to our own or other false voices. We must learn to spiritually discern God's voice, as the apostle Paul said, "The man without Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Because we are born of flesh, we are like those little wet, wobbly lambs before the "mothering up" process. Not until we are born of the Spirit are we able to discern the voice of the Good Shepherd, as well as being able to discern those counterfeit voices that would lead us astray.

When there is danger, little lambs not only run to mother, they immediately begin to suckle. Their sense of security is connected to the very sustenance of life, which they know instinctively. Are we like the little lambs...only turning to God when we're frightened? Of course, when we're frightened, we realize how completely dependent we are on God for survival. What we should come to realize is that it is absolutely essential that we turn to God daily, because He is the only worthy explanation, the only encouragement, and the only hope. He is the One who leads us out of harm's way.

We should begin each day recognizing our need for spiritual nourishment and strength. And we should praise Him for being the true source of our life, remembering that He is the One in whose image we want to be continually re-created.

As we come to know God, we learn how much He desires to satisfy our hearts with every longing and need. He is our Sustainer and suckles us with life and love! Like little lambs who are dependent and lovable, we are lovable to the heart of God. And when we're in need, we can run to His open arms. He isn't hard to find, because His voice is calling to us all the time. Do you hear it?

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Blessings...Mimi 

Jesus the Shepherd ~ Listening

Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.    Job 34:4

We're in chapter 14 of Meeting God in Quiet Places: The Cotswold Parables by F. LaGard Smith. This chapter  has a beautiful analogy that shows how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has the same relationship with us, His sheep, as the lambs do with their mothers and their shepherd.

 From an early period after they are born, lambs can pick out the  bleating of their mother's "baaahs" from among all the other mothers' bleating, because of what the shepherds call "mothering up" time. This is time spent getting the baby to love its mother and vice versa. If there's a problem, the mother will be clamped in a yoke while the baby suckles. This way, the mother's instincts have time to rally, and she can be released. Then maternal bonding continues to increase over the course of about a  week. When the lambs are released into a field--where perhaps a hundred ewes are waiting--they run straight for their mother, recognizing the sound of their own mother's voice.

Little lambs also know  the voice of their shepherd, probably because of a "mothering up" process when the shepherd feeds them and provides them with a sense of security. This amazing ability of lambs to know the voices of their mothers and their shepherd gives us a spiritual parallel in Jesus, who said, "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."

~

And we know that Jesus is the perfect, the quintessential Shepherd. Jesus said Himself, "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 my sheep." And how do the sheep know the Shepherd? By His voice! And how do we hear His voice? As followers of Christ we are permitted to know his inner being. We hear His voice because we know what He thinks. We know what He believes. We know what He stands for.

But to be safe, we must also be aware when the voice is not the voice of the Good Shepherd. Lambs don't follow the voice of a stranger, and we shouldn't either. Are we listening to the voice of a stranger because it's more exciting and more sophisticated? Are we acting as if there are no enemies about--that we don't need to stay close to Him who gives us protection? And will we be lost eternally because of listening to voices that lure us away?

More on this tomorrow! Hearing the Shepherd's voice is serious business, and we should all give it some serious thought!

Have a great Saturday!

Blessings...Mimi