“I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Mt.10:16).
Lord, why “as a sheep”?
Why not as another animal? Why as a fickle, defenseless, weak, dependent, little animal?
Then I remember: you offered yourself as the “Lamb of God”.
Why is a lamb such a perfect, pleasing sacrifice in your eyes?
Old Testament: lambs were accessible to simple people, even the poorer people.
Why do you love sheep, lambs, so much?
While fickle and weak, they are totally in need of a shepherd. They can’t they survive on their own. They need defense and protection.
They can hear the voice of their Shepherd and distinguish His from all other voices and noises.
Jesus, you were both sheep and Shepherd. You laid down your life for your sheep, but as the perfect Lamb offering and sacrifice to the Father.
Form my heart, make it more yours. Teach me what it means to live as both sheep and shepherd.
I need a Shepherd desperately- like branches connected to a vine. You shepherding me enables me to shepherd with you- to embrace all the sheep of your flock without hesitation, discrimination, or difference.
To be a shepherd, I need to understand both the heart of a sheep and the Heart of the Shepherd.
Only then can I be a bridge for encounter, can I freely pursue opportunities to encounter people in their daily realities, whatever that means and wherever that takes me.
For this my heart needs to be anchored in the Heart of my Shepherd. That’s the key- to be anchored in your Heart. Then come what may: nothing will disturb or unsettle me deep down, because I know you, you in whom I have believed and placed my trust.
Si Dios tiene, nada le falta. Solo Dios basta.
