I spent three days doing everything in my power to help a
lamb survive. In the end, all of my efforts didn’t help him pull through.
People in the business of raising sheep have a saying: “A sheep doesn’t need a
reason to die.” It’s very true and this little lamb was proof of that—it was
his own lack of will that prevented him from surviving.
“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved
with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd:
and he began to teach them many things.”
Matthew 6:34
The phrase “as sheep” occurs nine times in the Bible. Clearly,
there are some similarities between sheep and people. I wonder how many times
the death of one of God’s “lambs” occurs because they don’t need a reason to
die and they give up. The Shepherd is there doing everything He can to reach
them, love them and give them life but they reject it all.
One of the ways the Shepherd reaches out is with our
writing. I don’t care what genre it is from fiction to nonfiction, from novels
to business papers, if we honor Jesus Christ in what we do, He can use it to
His glory.
I spent three days sleeping very little, doing my best to encourage
a little lamb. Think about how much time Jesus Christ spends on His lambs. How heart
broken He must be when they fail to reach out and take hold of life. I can’t
save anyone or change them. But I can be a tool for Jesus to use if I, in
obedience, use the gifts He’s given me. Writing is one of those gifts.
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| He looked fine but it didn't last. |
Your blogpost is beautiful and inspiring. My take-away from your writing is that no matter what the genre, when we write to honour Jesus Christ, He can use our writing to his glory. I so appreciate your conclusion, "I can’t save anyone or change them. But I can be a tool for Jesus to use if I, in obedience, use the gifts He’s given me. Writing is one of those gifts." Amen.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad this piece touched you. It makes losing the lamb a little easier, like there was a purpose.
DeleteThis is a very inspiring and lovely post. it would make a wonderful contribution to a devotional anthology. Have you thought of submitting it somewhere?
ReplyDeleteNo Tracy, I hadn't thought of submitting it. I wrote it on the evening of the twelfth. I grieve when I lose a lamb but this one was especially hard because he was a fighter. You can't say that about lambs very often.
DeleteThanks for this beautiful thought. "I can be a tool for Jesus to use if I, in obedience, use the gifts He’s given me. Writing is one of those gifts."
ReplyDeleteI agree. I wish I could take credit but it was the Lord's response to my grieving the loss of the lamb.
DeleteThere are times I feel I want to quit! But yes, Jesus does have so much compassion on us and wants to teach us many things. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteWith Jesus as our shepherd, we can always find hope. God bless!
DeleteOh Tammy--this is SO beautiful...and so true that "if we honor Jesus Christ in what we do, He can use it to His glory." ...no matter what it is, what kind of writing it is. The extended metaphor makes it so powerful. Thanks.
ReplyDelete