October 28, 2024
On Saturday, the stubbornness of the sheep scattering across the land instead of heading to their allotment required some pretty intense pressure from me to change their mind. I can get out a bag of alfalfa pellets and still would not be able to control the flock from taking off in all directions. If I don’t have that bag of pellets, even the obedient ones will not stay with me or follow my directions. In this flock, many sheep don’t believe they will receive those pellets, so they go off and find their own food. Hence, the need to raise the bar, which required my blocking them with the truck and my yelling, in short, making it uncomfortable for them to keep scattering and grazing where they pleased.
During my morning devotion regarding the greatest commandment, the Golden Rule, I realized my tendency to do what is right in my own eyes is just like going off to find my own fulfillment. Two things are happening to me this year: increased awareness of my selfish patterns and recognizing that Jesus installed the new creation/His Spirit within me, which fulfills all the laws and the prophets. His intentions towards us aren’t leaving me to my own devices; his intentions are for me to follow Him, increasing the daily use of His active wisdom, which is not the same as locating a rule or formula and using it. I’m born to imitate Jesus.
