July 1, 2021

Thursday

Like Sheep We Have Gone Astray

 1 Peter 2:25

 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…”

Isaiah 53:6a

In the ancient world, if there were sheep there was also a shepherd. Together, they are mentioned close to 500 times in Scripture. Literal sheep and shepherds became a metaphor for spiritual sheep and shepherds because we manifest similar behaviors. Most troublesome is a sheep’s tendency to wander away and become lost, injured, or attacked by predators. And the same thing happens with us.

Our tendency to act like sheep—to wander away from God—prompted the words of Isaiah the prophet when describing the coming Messiah: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way.” That reflects the actions of Adam and Eve—choosing their way instead of God’s—and it reflects our actions, too. Thankfully, God sent His Son to be the Good Shepherd who will lead, protect, and provide for His sheep. We must guard against our human tendency to wander by staying close to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

 If you have wandered away from God—maybe a little, maybe a lot—let today be the day you return to God’s Good Shepherd.

A point to ponder…

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above. 
Robert Robinson

Read the Bible through in a year

Psalms 90-95

I love you!!!

© 2000-2021 B. Michael Goerlich