TUESDAY GUEST PIECE FROM TIMOTHY

Greetings -

This story from Timothy was posted today in the "Comments" area.  The story ministered to me.  I elected to move it here as a "GUEST PIECE" posting.

The Newly-bought Sheep
by Tim Temple


Once upon a time, there was a sheep named Sam. He belonged to a tyrannical shepherd named Santana. Santana was cruel and harsh to his sheep. He would occasionally get drunk and beat the sheep for no apparent reason. The pasture land was all ripped up and weedy. Everyone obeyed Santana out of fear for their lives.


One morning, Santana let another shepherd named Joshua take Sam and several other sheep over to his flock on the next valley. Santana hated to give up these “dollars on the hoof,” so to speak, but he had lost them in a poker game to Joshua the night before.


This new shepherd had definitely different ways. His call was different. Sam felt insecure. He didn’t know what to do or what came next. All he could do was follow the other sheep who knew what to do.


Joshua took care of his sheep. He was quick to use his rod to protect them and his staff to direct them. He took them to prepared pasture land. He led them to streams that had dammed up pools where the sheep could feel safe to drink.


Sam could still hear Santana calling his sheep, sometimes. He felt the urge to obey. Sometimes he would start to come, just out of habit. Joshua would have to chase after Sam and turn him around, bring him back to the flock.


Sam started to recognize Joshua’s calls by what the other sheep did when they heard them. He hadn’t mastered them, heaven knows. If he got out of sight of the flock, he might miss the call. Joshua would have to go back and direct Sam back to the flock, using a little swat to motivate him to learn, next time.


Over time, Sam learned to ignore Santana. He learned to immediately obey Joshua, knowing that he would be first to whatever it was Joshua had in mind for them. It was always good, although sometimes not all that pleasant. But being first often meant getting the best. Young lambs were now watching Sam, learning how to obey Joshua by what Sam did when he called.