You know, it's really the little things that end up making life life and making it worthwhile. Sure we get excited for big events in our lives -- weddings, births, graduations, vacations, but it's the in-between that makes up the actual life we live. The things I've been excited about lately are the beautiful sunshine that comes through my office window in the morning, the way the thunderstorms roll in almost every afternoon, my great little speaker system (which normally provides music in Renee's shop) that is right now in my living room and making Battlestar Galactica episodes and any music more enjoyable , long lunch conversations with dear friends (especially the mutually edifying kind), the way God's joy fills my heart despite the suffering that surrounds and the stress that threatens...these are all small things. Or maybe they're not.
I was thinking about David's Psalm 23 and the way the Good Shepherd guides us. If we are sheep like Jesus always says, then our lives are meant to be like the lives of sheep: following the One who leads us through green pastures, beside quiet waters, our souls being restored. It's not "everyday" that a sheep might get lost, almost fall off of a cliff, get eaten by wolves. Not to say that it doesn't happen, but a sheep's everyday life is meant to be peaceful and spent with the Shepherd that loves him. Despite the chaos that surrounds, the destruction and turbulence that the Prince of this earth loves, Jesus leads us in peace, and we don't need to worry.
That's not to say that there won't be trouble in our lives, and Jesus assured us that in following Him, the world would set itself against us. But--and it's a big but--Jesus gives us His Spirit to make up for our weakness and the craziness of this world. So the everyday things -- eating, drinking (and especially spiritually), working, talking...and following the Shepherd, doing these in the name of Jesus is what the Christian life is about. For who can be trusted with big thing who cannot be trusted with small ones? So let's be the sheep we are called to be and do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. All the little things will add up to make a life worth living for the One who created us.
I was thinking about David's Psalm 23 and the way the Good Shepherd guides us. If we are sheep like Jesus always says, then our lives are meant to be like the lives of sheep: following the One who leads us through green pastures, beside quiet waters, our souls being restored. It's not "everyday" that a sheep might get lost, almost fall off of a cliff, get eaten by wolves. Not to say that it doesn't happen, but a sheep's everyday life is meant to be peaceful and spent with the Shepherd that loves him. Despite the chaos that surrounds, the destruction and turbulence that the Prince of this earth loves, Jesus leads us in peace, and we don't need to worry.
That's not to say that there won't be trouble in our lives, and Jesus assured us that in following Him, the world would set itself against us. But--and it's a big but--Jesus gives us His Spirit to make up for our weakness and the craziness of this world. So the everyday things -- eating, drinking (and especially spiritually), working, talking...and following the Shepherd, doing these in the name of Jesus is what the Christian life is about. For who can be trusted with big thing who cannot be trusted with small ones? So let's be the sheep we are called to be and do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. All the little things will add up to make a life worth living for the One who created us.
AMEN, sister! Good words to heed and good promises to remind us.
ReplyDeleteMmmm thanks for putting this up! I don't think I've thought too much about what it looks like to be a sheep. I always just thought of them as animals stuck in a corral, nothing too exciting, you know? But now that I think about it, maybe being a sheep is not so bad! I'm still learning to really enjoy the small things and to not get overwhelmed by the trials and cares of this world.
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