For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:25
For a missionary who had just arrived in West Africa, the only way I could tell the difference between a sheep and goat was the tail. Otherwise, to the inexperienced eye, they looked pretty much the same. but I soon learned that a goat's tail is short and sticks up while a sheep's tail is long and hangs down.
Even differences in intelligence could be discerned if you paid attention. I have heard that sheep are not very bright and that if one loses its way, it will remain lost until the shepherd leads it back to the flock. I also saw (from experience) that they are not very quick to escape the middle of the highway when a vehicle approaches. Goats will run, but sheep do not seem as quick to sense when danger is near.
Is it any wonder that God's people are so often referred to as a "flock." Have we all, truly then like sheep, gone astray? It would seem so, but we have a Good Shepherd who is also the Guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ. Sheep are a great picture of lost humanity. Those without Christ are not sidetracked, confused, or mis-informed. They are utterly lost and in need of a Shepherd and when those who belong to Christ's flock wander away (or into danger), we should expect His chastening rod to bring us back.
It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. - Rollo May
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