Just a Sheep II – One Gate

On a trip to South Dakota, time was spent at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. Beyond being a beautiful ranch where a variety of wild horses live in a sanctuary environment, this was also once a homestead. If you ever have the chance to travel that way, I highly recommend making the stop. Make sure to take a moment to look at the remains of a fenced area where a few animals would have been kept by the settlers. A natural wall of rock stands along a portion, then a fence structure meets them, with space left for one opening. I would imagine that this type of arrangement is not unusual in many places still; using natural resources to make a safe holding area.

It probably didn’t look all that different in ancient Israel where sheep were gathered for the evening. The gate itself however wasn’t made of metal or wood, it was the stretched out body of the shepherd; it was here that the shepherd would rest, keeping the predators out and the sheep in. If either the former attempted to enter, or the latter to leave, the shepherd would know as they would have to pass over his body. With one gate, and that being the shepherd, suddenly the impact of the words in John 10:7 carry new weight.

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  John 10:7

I imagine a sheep, suffering from a bout of insomnia and after not overcoming it by counting everyone else standing around in the pasture, decides an evening stroll would be just the thing to do. Moving over to the gate, the sheep sees the shepherd and not wanting to disturb him (or get caught), tries to quietly and stealthily step over the shepherd and out into the area of supposed freedom. No matter how the sheep tries, the shepherd is aware of its presence and moves to intercept. Finally, the sheep is discouraged and gives up, returning to the flock muttering the whole way there. “Always has to be in charge, never lets me do what I want. I just wanted a little walk!”

Suddenly, there are chaotic sounds and motions coming from the gate as the shepherd rises to block a wolf from entering to prey on the sheep. Where the wooly headed creature had just been grumbling, it is now tucked in with the others and loudly singing the praises of the shepherd. “I didn’t know there was a wolf out there! He is such a good protector, always looking out for us.”

I’ve been that kind of a sheep before. I get a little bored and see something beyond the boundaries of where I have been told to stay and am inclined to wander. It is as if there is something on the other side of the fence being dangled to grab my attention. I fidget my way over, knowing the entire while I’m not supposed to wander off. Then, I get annoyed when told again to stay where it is safe. Haven’t you ever rationalized it in your mind? If I can just do this small thing, then I will come back into the fold where the rest of the sheep are. Or sometimes I get turned around, my phone battery must be dead – thus no GPS, and I can go wandering out in what I think is the right direction. However, it really is leading me to places of dangerous drops and thorns.

Yet, the gate itself is the shepherd. And to enter or exit, I would have to pass over his body. It reminds me of how Jesus stretched out on a cross, allowing himself to pay for my sins, your sins. As the ultimate gate, he opened the way to eternal life, showed his love and continues to do so. One little verse in John and I am held awestruck with its meaning. 

Tether

My five point harness had me locked into a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) training chair. This piece of equipment is used by astronauts to train for work in a microgravity environment. I was excited to be part of this simulation, preparing to “fix” a broken part of the external components of the International Space Station (ISS) as a team member on a mock spacewalk. In a space simulation, I quickly learn that unwieldy space suits and simulated microgravity environment exercises can make me go swishing across the polished floor. Laughing, I felt myself going backwards until at 25 feet out, my safety tether snapped taught. My momentum was changed as I started to slowly move forward again towards the black and white structure. Still smiling, my hands and feet braced to gently catch myself coming back to the station wall. The tether, made of strong woven fibers and thick metal buckles, has to be able to withstand the simulated great temperature variances found in space, resist abrasions and still maintain flexibility. It didn’t take long to discover that more than a gentle movement would send me inadvertently moving away from the mock-up station; and be grateful for the safety tethers that keep me from careening off across the floor. 

A book titled The Untethered Soul caught my attention the other day. Let me put in my aside here, I have not read the book - it could be good, my reaction is purely to the title. An untethered soul, and all I could think of was simulations of fixing a mock-up of the ISS. My response to the title was thankfulness for the tethers in my life.

Sitting for a few quiet minutes today, I thought of who and what makes up my safety tether. Some of the fibers are short and others of inestimable yardage are woven in throughout. Buckles, forged from unbreakable love of Jesus are ones that do not fail. The webbed lengths are strong in family, friends, love, retain joy in abundance and resist abrasions with compassion. These cordage systems keep us from drifting away into space. They are our life lines that pull us back, reversing the backward momentum. And we in turn serve the same purpose for others.

At least until it’s time to take your MMU for a little spin, and go drifting slowly across the floor for the fun of it. 

Skid Strips

   There is a beautiful marble piece outside of the door, worn smooth with many shoe falls. It’s really a great piece of stone, but every time it got wet – it got really slippery. So, a thin ice film or just a little cover of moisture, and that beautiful stone becomes a polished stone that might as well have an oil covering. So, every time I would walk on it when it was wet, it required some fancy footwork – or a little bit of ice skating. Then, one day I walked there, and outside the door on the marble, there were black skid strips. I had a moment where I was just a little sad. Such beautiful marble and now covered in thick black lines. Then, I stepped over it and was very glad about the safety that was now there.

   There are other things in life that appear beautiful. But when you actually step over to examine it more closely, you find your feet slipping out from under you and the beauty changes to danger. It’s at that moment, those big thick strips are such a comfort and safety. Footing becomes firm, the door opens, and instead of doing a face plant against the threshold, I can actually step across it.
   When a danger presents itself, when a trouble starts it’s sing song of worry and dread, when fear works its way in slowly and subtly – look for the thick black skid strips. Look for the thick black skid strips in the Bible, in the Word of God, as you seek out the truths and peace He offers. There is nothing quite like it.

Lifejacket

   For a brief time, I lived on a sand bar island in Florida. The backyard opened out onto the bay and if I would have walked straight out the front and continued across the street, I would have eventually come to the Gulf of Mexico. The water was beautiful, and the sounds of it lapping against the barrier were very restful. I learned very quickly that the water, though beautiful, was something that had to be respected.

   People walk in their own little circles, stand on sand bars in life, and feel the waves move the grains of sand beneath their feet. But, life can be full off currents, rip tides, and hidden shoals in the tides. So, I vote for a life jacket. Actually, some days I vote for a life jacket, little army float things, an inflatable dingy and a raft. The thing is that we all need a life jacket. We cannot save ourselves in the water, floating around forever. Instead, we need something to help us keep afloat.
   So, what it is that keeps me afloat? Well, I have learned that my dingy gets water in it not only because of storms, but because I keep putting water in it. The water in it is because of worry. Instead of bailing the water out, I could hold onto worry. It’ s like taking one of those empty coffee cans and filling it up with water, only to pour it into the boat. Not such a great plan. Worry, sin, destruction, the world we live in is a turbulent one. Many times a day we refill our empty coffee cans with water and instead of tossing it back out into the water, we pour it into the boat. With all of that going on, we may find that our boat sinks. Treading water, we realize that we need something that we cannot just keep refilling. We need a life jacket. I need a life jacket that keeps me afloat.
   There are good days and bad days, good choices and bad choices – life is still turbulent. What I need is something that will not fail to keep me afloat, even when my boat fails. My life jacket is the one who created the sea. He holds me even when I fill my own boat.