I was in a big pen of crowded sheep, and there in the middle of the pen was an old ewe and her newborn lamb (still wet, lying on the ground and now covered with dirt).
I put the two of them in a small pen, and as I checked later, she had cleaned him up, had him standing and even given him some milk.
Later I opened the gates and tried to get the old ewe to move. She would move away several feet then turn around and call out to her baby and nothing would happen. Finally after many attempts the lamb started to respond to her voice.
At first he would take a step or two and stop, but eventually he would take 10 or more steps. Shortly she was constantly calling to him and he was following close behind. As I watched I was reminded of something in the Bible.
In John 10:3-5), it says Jesus is the good shepherd (To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”), and John 10:14,15 (I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.) and his sheep hear his voice and follow him.
I know in today’s world, there are many different voices out there and many, many distractions to keep us from hearing the voice of Jesus. But just as that little lamb had to learn to recognize his mothers voice and to follow it so he could survive and have a good life, so we must also learn to recognize the voice of Jesus (John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.) and follow it.
See you in church on Sunday.