5.3.25
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
A shepherd had 100 sheep. One wandered off and so the shepherd went in search of that sheep until he found it. And when he found it, he laid it on His shoulder and rejoiced greatly. When he came home, he wanted his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him. That’s the opening story of Luke 15.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the wayward sheep. But please note: when He finds the wandering sheep He doesn’t build a sheep-fold for him in the land of his wandering – He brings him home. He brings the lost sheep back to the old sheep-fold, the familiar flock, the traditional pasture lands. The lost sheep might protest and say that he has found better pasture, a more pleasing climate, a tastier food source. “I want to live in these lands and graze in these pastures and settle in this place.” But the Shepherd knows that this land would not be good for the sheep. The food might be tastier, but it is not as nutritious as the traditional pasture lands. The climate might be more pleasing – at that moment, but the Shepherd knows that overall, it’s a harsher climate. And yes, there’s an abundant water supply – but the water is saltier in that it is closer to the tidal influx of the sea.
Many sheep wander from the fields of Jesus in our day. And when Jesus searches for them and finds them, they protest against the old sheep-fold, the familiar flock, and the traditional pasture lands. They want Jesus to build a sheep-fold in the Valleys of Spiritual Speculation, by the Streams of Scientific Certainty, in the Fields of Fleshly Fulfillment, in the Hollows of Heavy Breathing, among the Pines of Progressive Theology, and atop the Mountains of Materialism. The old flock is too unbending, the traditional food is too bland, and the old sheep-fold is too restrictive.
Once again, we are living in the days of Jeremiah 6:16. THUS SAYS THE LORD, “STAND BY THE WAYS AND SEE AND ASK FOR THE ANCIENT PATHS, WHERE THE GOOD WAY IS, AND WALK IN IT; AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. BUT THEY SAID, ‘WE WILL NOT WALK IN IT.’
We are living in the day when the Sheep know better than the Shepherd. No longer is the Shepherd at the head of the Flock, making them lie down in Green Pastures and leading them beside the Still Waters. The Sheep are the Leaders and the Visionaries and they cry out, “We will stop and graze here for this looks good to us.” They wander away from Jesus the Good Shepherd in the Valleys of Spiritual Speculation, by the Streams of Scientific Certainty, in the Fields of Fleshly Fulfillment, in the Hollows of Heavy Breathing, among the Pines of Progressive Theology, and atop the Mountains of Materialism.
For decades, I have been an avid reader of Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity. It is edited by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theologians. Though they represent different and in so many ways, opposing theologies, they hold to what is called the Vincentian Canon. St. Vincent of Lerins was a 5th century monk and theologian and is best known for this statement: “THAT WHICH HAS BEEN BELIEVED EVERYWHERE, ALWAYS, AND BY ALL.” There is within Protestantism and Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy a common core of theological agreement. There is that which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all. This is Mere Christianity.
Mere Christianity calls out to those sheep wandering in the Valleys of Spiritual Speculation, by the Streams of Scientific Certainty, in the Fields of Fleshly Fulfillment, in the Hollows of Heavy Breathing, among the Pines of Progressive Theology, and atop the Mountains of Materialism. It calls out using the language of Isaiah 30:21, “YOUR EARS WILL HEAR A WORD BEHIND YOU, “THIS IS THE WAY, WALK IN IT,” WHENEVER YOU TURN TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT.” Mere Christianity calls out in the name of the Good Shepherd, “Come home.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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