a story about a "lost sheep"...
This is a story about a man who lost his job. Growing up poor, he vowed that he would be able to retire before he hit 50 years of age. He is now 48. Due to several issues in his life, which included drinking and trouble with the law, as well as an economy that crashed, his bills mounted up, work became harder to find and he needed to reinvent himself to start over. Finally though--he had found a job that made him money! However, the job required him to be away from home for long stretches at a time. Soon even friends stopped calling, he was either working, recovering from work or preparing for yet another long stretch of being at work. Sure he was making money, but he never had the chance to be able to enjoy the fruits of his labors. He remembered what it was like, though, to be wanting; he always gave more than what was necessary to help out others.
Now he is once again in a predicament that he is more than familiar with. Age is becoming an intrusion as work is harder to find for folks who are entering those middle years. Despair is claiming his soul. No matter what his wife does to try and console him, he feels empty. Once again, liquor takes him to a place where he can escape...realizing that when he comes back, the pain is still there, still taunting him. Thus begins a cycle that only trust and faith can get him out of.
It is similar to a story about a sheep who was lost for six years. Meet Shrek the sheep; he became famous a little while back for hiding out in caves by himself for six years. Because of his isolation, his fleece was never shorn. It grew and grew; by the time he was finally shaved, the amount of fleece that fell away from his body weighed sixty pounds. Most sheep have a fleece weighing under ten pounds; sometimes it's more, but never by much.
For six years, Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece... all because he was away from his shepherd. This is reminiscent of John 10 when Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd, and His followers are His sheep. If you think about it, Shrek the sheep is much like a person who knows Jesus Christ but has wandered. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear.
Christ can easily lift the burdens we bear, if only we stop hiding. He can shave off our "fleece," that is, our self-imposed burdens brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
My prayers are with this man for whom life seems so far away. Prayers for hope, for peace...for that job that can make him feel whole again. It is also my prayer that he realizes that all good things come from God....with our help. We can't "have it all" without losing ourselves in the process. I hope this lost sheep can find his way back to God.
Amen.
Now he is once again in a predicament that he is more than familiar with. Age is becoming an intrusion as work is harder to find for folks who are entering those middle years. Despair is claiming his soul. No matter what his wife does to try and console him, he feels empty. Once again, liquor takes him to a place where he can escape...realizing that when he comes back, the pain is still there, still taunting him. Thus begins a cycle that only trust and faith can get him out of.
It is similar to a story about a sheep who was lost for six years. Meet Shrek the sheep; he became famous a little while back for hiding out in caves by himself for six years. Because of his isolation, his fleece was never shorn. It grew and grew; by the time he was finally shaved, the amount of fleece that fell away from his body weighed sixty pounds. Most sheep have a fleece weighing under ten pounds; sometimes it's more, but never by much.
For six years, Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece... all because he was away from his shepherd. This is reminiscent of John 10 when Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd, and His followers are His sheep. If you think about it, Shrek the sheep is much like a person who knows Jesus Christ but has wandered. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear.
Christ can easily lift the burdens we bear, if only we stop hiding. He can shave off our "fleece," that is, our self-imposed burdens brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
My prayers are with this man for whom life seems so far away. Prayers for hope, for peace...for that job that can make him feel whole again. It is also my prayer that he realizes that all good things come from God....with our help. We can't "have it all" without losing ourselves in the process. I hope this lost sheep can find his way back to God.
Amen.
When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed (James 1:13-14, NIV).
ReplyDeleteif you are writing about whom I think you are writing about--I hope that all goes well with you. I know you're hurting also...keep the faith...God is with you!!