Herman and Edward loved to work for Mr. Burge, a neighboring farmer. He always paid them well, and they learned quite a few useful things from him too. So they were happy to hear Mr. Burge asking their dad if they could help him move some sheep.
“Yes, we’ll make real shepherds out of these boys,” Mr. Burge said, smiling at Herman and Edward. They arranged a time for him to pick them up the next day.
“Okay, boys, there they are,” Mr. Burge said as he dropped them off in a pasture with his 80 sheep. Herman and Edward had often worked with cows and calves, but never with sheep. Still, they were sure they could handle them, as they ran around behind them and began driving them toward the gate. The sheep, however, were not so sure about this way of being herded. They began running in all directions and finally collected behind the discouraged boys.
Soon Mr. Burge came back and stood by the gate, watching and smiling. “I guess two boys are no match for 80 sheep,” he said. “But I’ll tell you something: these sheep like to be led.”
Are you one of God’s sheep? We become one of His sheep by trusting the Lord Jesus to wash away our sins in His precious blood that He shed on Calvary’s cross. And if we are truly His sheep, we will want Him to lead us too.
Mr. Burge went to the back of his pickup truck and opened the tailgate. And there in the back he had placed a big, fresh bale of hay. To those sheep it looked absolutely delicious! The boys hopped into the back of the pickup, and Mr. Burge climbed into the driver’s seat. And as he began to drive down the road, every one of those sheep followed the truck with its bale of hay.
Along each side of the road were fields with fences, so the sheep stayed on the road and ran along well, until they came to a crossroad. Now it’s very easy for a sheep to get confused when there’s more than one way to go. So the boys’ job was to jump off the truck and make sure the sheep stayed on the right road.
God’s sheep also need the constant guidance of their Good Shepherd if they are to stay on the right road. The Lord Jesus said, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life... few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:1414Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14).
Soon the pickup truck came to a lovely flower garden without a fence around it. The sheep were attracted by the brightly-colored flowers. But soon the boys were able to direct their attention back to the truck and its sweet-smelling bale of hay.
All along the highway, wherever there were no fences, the sheep tended to wander off the road. And if one wandered off, the others would try to follow. So Herman and Edward were kept very busy, until all 80 sheep arrived safely at the other pasture where Mr. Burge was leading them. Then Mr. Burge took the boys home, thanked them and paid them well.
If you belong to the Lord Jesus and are careful to do any jobs He gives you to help His sheep down the road of life, “when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” 1 Peter 5:44And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. (1 Peter 5:4).
One day when Herman was a little older he went to a sheep auction. As the sheep came through the door into the auctioning pen, the auctioneer held out a stick as high as his knees and in front of the first sheep. The sheep jumped over it. Then the auctioneer took the stick away. But, even though there was no stick there, as each of the following sheep came to the spot where the first sheep had jumped, that sheep jumped also, even though there was nothing to jump over.
Every one of us who is saved from our sins is a sheep in God’s pasture. Let us always remember the wise advice Paul gave to Timothy, “Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity [love], in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading.” 1 Timothy 4:12,1312Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. (1 Timothy 4:12‑13). Every day we need to walk closely with the Lord Jesus and feed on His Word if we want to faithfully follow that great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ.
ML-12/06/1992