What is a sheep?

Monday nights at the house are “Heart for” nights, every week we discuss a different area of the Christian life we are called to have a heart for. Last night Dee talked to us about having a heart for ministry. One of her main points was that as Christians, we all have the blessing and obligation of carrying out our own ministry in life, even if no part of our lives into the category of full time ministry. Looking at Jesus’ call to the people in Matthew 5:13-16, it is clear that as children of the King, we are on this earth to make an impact, to use the gifts He has given us to light this world up. As Mark Stuart and Audio Adrenaline might say, we are here to “Start a Fire,” great song, check it out!

As Dee continued, she mentioned a familiar passage:
Matthew 9:36-38
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Throughout His life, Jesus used sheep to discuss countless topics. They come up so often, that I think that whenever I see them in a parable or illustration, I have kind of gotten used to glancing over them and looking for the deeper meaning in the scripture. Sheep don’t really stick out, you know. When I see a lion or a mouse or a camel used in scripture, I take notice. What is the size or roar or viciousness of this animal symbolizing? But when it’s a sheep there, I have gotten used to just reading sheep, thinking follower, and moving on. But, last night instead of focusing first on the other points in the scripture, Dee took a minute to focus on the sheep.

What is a sheep without its shepherd? Even now as I sit and ponder and try to communicate my thoughts which seemed so clear last night, I am having trouble answering this question constructively. A sheep without a shepherd has no one to follow, no one to keep it in the fold, no protection or defense. If a predator, say a wolf or lion seeking a sheep to devour, approached a shepherdless sheep, it’s done for. Sheep aren’t designed to run fast from predators, they don’t have crazy camouflage skills to blend in; it’s almost as if they were designed to be taken care of. A sheep without a shepherd is stuck wandering, serving no greater purpose waiting for greener grass to come its way, sometimes wandering looking for that perfect spot with no real direction. What kind of a life is that?

However, when you put a shepherd into the equation, the sheep’s life is transformed. Now the sheep has someone much wiser than itself directing its course, keeping it together with the others, leading it to new pastures, and protecting it from danger. The sheep is fulfilling a purpose in life. The shepherd grooms and keeps it, waiting for the right time to shear the sheep’s wool so that he can use the fruit of the sheep’s labor to serve others. With a shepherd, the sheep goes from a wild animal lost in the world, to the property of his Shepherd, loved like never before.

Thinking about people in my own life, how many lost sheep have I let walk past me without ever even considering pointing them to the Shepherd who has put the meaning and love into my life? In the passage Dee talked about, Jesus told the disciples to pray for more workers to lead the lost to Him. What if I was the answer to that prayer for someone in my life, but ignored the Spirit’s calling because I was afraid I might stick out, said I didn’t have time, was simply being lazy? When I begin to think about ministry like this, I am so convicted, knowing I have let so many ministry opportunities slip through my hands. How can I get that compassion for the lost to overcome the fear and lies that are my excuses to get out of ministry?

The ever-insightful Sally Prosen has suggested from the other side of the Starbucks table that perhaps only prayer has the power to overcome the lies of Satan that stand in the way of ministry. Praying for those you're minister to, with them, and with fellow believers. I'm sure I could ask 50 people this question and get 50 answers, but I will settle on this one tonight.