"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd,
he had compassion on them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
So he began teaching them many things." Mark 6:34
This, to me, more than any verse in the Bible illustrates the true heart and mission of Jesus. To truly love the lost, fallen, sinful world that we live in is neither easy or comfortable. We have to look at sin head on, see it for the vile, disgusting filth that it is, without judging or affecting our view of the person is tough. As new creations in Christ, we are cleansed from sin and don't want to have to "go back there". Or, we look back at the sins that we know we committed and compare them to the sins of the unsaved that we see now, and think that we are better than them. As followers of Christ, we must get over ourselves and set outside of our own views to see the world as Jesus did. We must stop looking through your own stained glass bifocals, that see our world and "their" world as separate and unequal; and start seeing through the clear and cleansing sight of the Savior. We need to allow Jesus to perform LASIK surgery our our view of the world.
To truly see people as Jesus did is to see them as "...sheep without a shepherd". This first starts with realizing at one point or another, we were all in this category and it is only by the Grace of God that we are now able to see the reality of our unrighteousness. There are three distinct attributes that we need to see in this analogy:
1. Sheep are Helpless. Sheep can feed themselves. That's why we have shepherds. The shepherd's job is to lead the sheep to the fertile grass lands where they can find nourishment. Without the shepherd to guide the flock to the right place for food, the flock would starve.
2. Sheep are Defenseless. Sheep can not defend themselves. Herds of sheep have to defensive attributes. No sharp teeth or claws to defend themselves with. A friend once asked me about rams, since they are in the sheep family. I would say that true, rams have horns, but the only way to use them is to keep butting heads until someone is too tired and gives up. Still not the best defense. The shepherd is the guardian of the flock. He oversees them and keeps them in safe areas to both feed and rest. It's when the sheep try to wander off that they put themselves into harms way. (But that's another entry for another day...)
3. Sheep are Leaderless. Sheep will simply follow the group. And if we are truly honest with ourselves, people are the same way. We all want to follow the group we are in. People are just as dumb leaderless animals are sheep. The shepherd is the true leader of the flock, and a good shepherd will always have the best interests of the flock at heart. He will never lead them somewhere that would compromise their safety or well being.
The analogy here is obvious, but the application might not be so. We have to train ourselves to see each and every person the way that Jesus did. Every person we meet. Every conversation we have. No matter if we like them or not. No matter if we like their life choices, life style, or life partner, our responsibility is to see through all of that and see what Jesus saw. The helpless, defenseless, leaderless soul within.
- Just a thought
he had compassion on them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
So he began teaching them many things." Mark 6:34
This, to me, more than any verse in the Bible illustrates the true heart and mission of Jesus. To truly love the lost, fallen, sinful world that we live in is neither easy or comfortable. We have to look at sin head on, see it for the vile, disgusting filth that it is, without judging or affecting our view of the person is tough. As new creations in Christ, we are cleansed from sin and don't want to have to "go back there". Or, we look back at the sins that we know we committed and compare them to the sins of the unsaved that we see now, and think that we are better than them. As followers of Christ, we must get over ourselves and set outside of our own views to see the world as Jesus did. We must stop looking through your own stained glass bifocals, that see our world and "their" world as separate and unequal; and start seeing through the clear and cleansing sight of the Savior. We need to allow Jesus to perform LASIK surgery our our view of the world.
To truly see people as Jesus did is to see them as "...sheep without a shepherd". This first starts with realizing at one point or another, we were all in this category and it is only by the Grace of God that we are now able to see the reality of our unrighteousness. There are three distinct attributes that we need to see in this analogy:
1. Sheep are Helpless. Sheep can feed themselves. That's why we have shepherds. The shepherd's job is to lead the sheep to the fertile grass lands where they can find nourishment. Without the shepherd to guide the flock to the right place for food, the flock would starve.
2. Sheep are Defenseless. Sheep can not defend themselves. Herds of sheep have to defensive attributes. No sharp teeth or claws to defend themselves with. A friend once asked me about rams, since they are in the sheep family. I would say that true, rams have horns, but the only way to use them is to keep butting heads until someone is too tired and gives up. Still not the best defense. The shepherd is the guardian of the flock. He oversees them and keeps them in safe areas to both feed and rest. It's when the sheep try to wander off that they put themselves into harms way. (But that's another entry for another day...)
3. Sheep are Leaderless. Sheep will simply follow the group. And if we are truly honest with ourselves, people are the same way. We all want to follow the group we are in. People are just as dumb leaderless animals are sheep. The shepherd is the true leader of the flock, and a good shepherd will always have the best interests of the flock at heart. He will never lead them somewhere that would compromise their safety or well being.
The analogy here is obvious, but the application might not be so. We have to train ourselves to see each and every person the way that Jesus did. Every person we meet. Every conversation we have. No matter if we like them or not. No matter if we like their life choices, life style, or life partner, our responsibility is to see through all of that and see what Jesus saw. The helpless, defenseless, leaderless soul within.
- Just a thought
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1 comment:
I believe Christian's who have been churched all their lives have the hardest time with this. Jesus put himself in situations that allowed him to be surrounded by the "unchurched". We tend to get so comfortable in our "country club" churches that we forget that the number one reason for existance is to reach others for Christ and love them just as they are. I think it's sad that most christians don't have one unsaved person they are pouring into. We have become week. We are spiritual gluttons that sit on the pews two days a week as if the church was created to fulfill our needs. The fact of the matter is a glass that has been filled that continues to pour out constantly has clean water. A glass that is filled and sits and doesn't pour out becomes stagnant and stinks.
Bill, by the way, I am sure you wrote this one in a hurry. I had a hard time following some of your points. Be a little more diliberate in your proofing.
Love,
Mel
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