Gifts and Talents

         Sheep are meek animals. They are quiet animals, holding themselves aloof from the rest of the world. In a herd, they listen to their leaders. Sheep also have an obedient character. They also love to be in a herd. Sheep must have a leader, a shepherd, or another sheep with a bell, and must be led and told what to do and where to go. They recognize the sound of the bell or the voice of the shepherd. Many different herds can be in a pasture and when they hear the voice of the shepherd for a particular herd, the sheep that belong to that shepherd will follow him and only him. Sheep are not driven they must be led. Sheep are the only animals on Earth that can’t defend themselves, they are totally vulnerable.

      A man was in Africa and he saw a big lake where many animals stopped to drink water. Suddenly a shepherd arrived with about two hundred sheep and they began to drink, and then another shepherd came, and my friend thought, “Oh my, how are they going to know which sheep belong to which shepherd?” Then one more shepherd arrived with more sheep. He noticed that the shepherds were talking to each other while the sheep drank. A little while later, each shepherd left, and the sheep listened when their shepherd called them. Each flock followed their shepherd, without getting mixed up.

      Jesus is portrayed as a good shepherd. He loves His flock and leads them to where they must go. His flock knows His voice. We often hear Him but we may not go the way we should. We fill our lives with many things to do. We do not have time for the things of God. We cannot be led if we ignore the voice of the Lord. God will never force us to do anything. He leads us with a gentle voice. It is up to us to follow where He leads us to go. We need to be meek and quiet and hold ourselves aloof from this world and have an obedient nature to Him, so we can hear Him and go the way that He leads us.

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      New King James Version
John 10:1 ¶ "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.