Growing up on a farm can bring some insight to the lessons that Jesus teaches us in the Bible. This lesson comes from John 10: 1-16 (ESV)
1″Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7So Jesus again said to them,”Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
There are three observations I take from this:
1. Sheep are really dumb animals…They will follow each other and eat their way off a cliff because they are terribly near-sighted.
2. However, Sheep are smart enough to listen to the voice of the Shepherd. They will not listen to the Thief.
3. We humans really have a hard time hearing what we should listen to – The voice of the Good Shepherd.
Where I live there, is a large Amish population. One day, I went to an Amish Run shoe store to get a pair of work boots. The man who owns the store shared with me this saying…
You drive a car to get here. For every mile that you drove there are two miles of road ditches. It doesn’t matter to Satan at all which one you fall into.