In an earlier post labeled “Two” sent out on July 28th, 2018, I wrote, “One is a lonely number. Two is not much better, but when coupled as one, becomes so much stronger”. I wrote about Saint Patrick who single handedly converted his home country of Ireland from paganism into Christianity. Did he really act as one?
To become one in the secular world means we don’t withdraw sex or anything else in a relationship in order to punish or control. You can search the web yourself as there are a lot of marriage relation discussions available. I would like to focus on a more biblical relation. John 10:30 says, “I (Jesus) and the Father are one.” Is that a marriage situation? Well, if you search further, you discover that Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd to the Jewish leaders. By saying he was one with God, put him equal to God. This enraged the leaders as they did not believe him so would never become one of his sheep. What are the characteristics of sheep?
Sheep cannot defend themselves, have an endless amount of wool, do not eat junk food, and hear only their shepherd’s voice. When sheep die, they seem to go in peace. (Source: Bishop Edir Macedo blogs.universal.org) If you look at these characteristics, we may see no comparison. We can be defiant in our comparison argument. Yes, we can defend ourselves, but where does defense become offense? Can we really defend ourselves without divine intervention? Something to consider. No, we cannot produce an endless amount of wool, but we can provide an endless amount of our gifts and talents. Yes, most of us eat junk food. Should we learn how to curb our craving to stay healthy? Finally, can we control our ability to hear our shepherd’s voice? Yes, we can, with much practice and determination, hear what others will not.
The Sheep and Shepherd relationship is a fascinating concept. It is hard to grasp this concept. Just like a good marriage is hard to maintain, we also need a good spiritual relationship. A good marriage is when two become one. A bad marriage is when one controls another. A good spiritual relationship is when we, though many, become one. A bad relationship is when we try to control the situation on our own. Sheep who get lost can be found if they stop to listen. They remain lost if unwilling to listen. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time refused to listen and believe. They considered Jesus as a test of their patience. (John 10:24) All too often we are guilty of hearing noise around us instead of listening for the master’s voice. May we listen to only his voice and follow him.
T
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