The Grass is greener on the other side...

"all we like sheep have gone astray"...really? Why in the world would we wander away from the safety of the shepherd and the security of the flock? We know that we are safer, right? It is an amazing thing that we are a dumb as sheep! If you have spent any time at all around one of these wool covered animals you know that God showed us little flattery in calling us His sheep. Sheep are very stubborn, often going their own way until a shepherd's staff lands squarely on his head. You can not reason with a sheep and explain to her why she is better off over here in this pasture, often times the only time she will look for her shepherd is when she is in danger. It is then that she will come running to the shepherd. Sound familiar?

So why do we wander? We sing it regularly in the hymn 'prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love". Why? I would argue that there is two main reasons and that both are driven by our sin of selfishness. In one case we will wander because the grass looks greener on the other side and in the other we are divided from the fold by strife. We have already talked about how Satan loves to divide us, so lets take a little time looking at this idea about the grass being greener.

The first step that we have to take is to say that it is okay to feel this way. The grass may really be greener on the other side. We may be in a pasture that has dried up to almost nothing and just over there on the other side is a lush pasture full of green plants. We were never promised the best pastures...on this side of eternity. So why does God lead us through the valley's, mountains, deserts, droughts, blizzards, you get the point. Why not just stick us in a green pasture all the time. Have you ever seen a green field that sheep have been allowed to graze on for long periods of time? There is not much green about it. The good shepherd understands that he must move his sheep. Maybe the shepherd knows that a hard winter is coming and that it would be in the flocks best interest to leave that field for later. Maybe their is a wolf hiding in the tall grass. We are right where we are supposed to be when we are following our shepherd no matter what the field on the other side looks like.

Is 11:6-9
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

There is a promise that one day someday we will see the greenest of greens and we will not fear the wolf. Isaiah is full of passages that talk about what that day will be like. We will still be sheep and we will still have a respectful fear of the Lion, Jesus, who will destroy once and for all both the enemy and our selfishness. Hasten that day!

The Wolf's tactics

I have not had the opportunity to watch a wolf go after his prey other than on the television, but I have watched many other animals...coyotes, foxes, cats, etc...stalking prey. They always go after the weak, the young, the easy prey. In general I think Satan's tactics are similar, his armies go after sheep that have wandered away from the safety of the flock and shepherd, and if the sheep are together he strives to divide them so that the weak will become easier to pick off.

Consider this, Satan tempted Adam & Eve, Job, and Jesus. I would not exactly consider these the weak of the fold. Satan goes after big fish, he is an elephant killer. He leaves the tempting of most people, like me, to his legions of followers while he goes after people whose demise would effect the flock as a whole. Pastors, gov't leaders, elders and these types are in the crosshairs of the wolf. I personally don't think that I have had a run in with the Devil, I am too small of a fish...so the devil didn't make me do it! :)

For those of you that don't know I am in Sales for a local insurance agency. In our line of business we talk about 'lay-ups.' Lay-ups are sales that are very easy, usually some kind of referral where we don't have to sell anyone on our products and services because one of our clients has done that work for us. I believe Satan loves lay-ups. In order to make Adam fall he went after Eve and let Eve hand the fruit to Adam. I believe that he could have made Adam fall directly, but how much easier was it for Adam to take the fruit from his wife 'bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh' than to take it from the serpent. Even more astonishing to me is the story of Job. God tells Satan that he can do whatever to whomever, but not to kill Job. Satan kills everyone close to job except...yep His wife. And take a look at what she says to her husband...'curse God and die.' Satan could have killed her, but again I see here a tactic that is somewhat scary. He loves lay-ups.

Later I want to talk about what makes us sheep wander from the fold other than division.

The Wolf

I've heard it said that people either give Satan to much credit or not enough. You know people on both sides of this fence. The first group is usually blaming all of their own sin on Satan, essentially placing blame on this creature as a way of justifying themselves. James tells us that "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire," so it is our 'own desire' that allows us to be tempted at all. Satan does not get credit for my sins or yours. The punishment for our sins falls completely in one of two places, either on the back of the sinner or on Jesus.

The other group feels the need to enter into a battle with Satan thinking that they can come out victorious on the other side. Big, Big, Big underestimation of who Satan is and the power that he has. He is a ferocious wolf who desires to consume and destroy. The Son of God needed angels to minister to Him after he was tempted. Job, a righteous man, buckled under the pressures of this wolf. We are far too arrogant if we think ourselves capable of standing toe to toe with this dog.

While Satan is a creature that is powerful he is not all powerful, while he knows us better than we know ourselves he is not all knowing, and while he roams to and fro over the face of the earth he is not all present. This dog is on a chain and that chain is only a fraction of the strength of the hand of God that holds it. We should have a respect for our enemy but we should not fear him, he answers to our God, Father, and King!