"Take care of My sheep...."
"Feed My sheep..."
—John 21:15-17
It can be easy to nod as these words glide by and think they are on their way to those with a pastoral calling. But this entire Great Adventure is full-time ministry as we go about our day—and all participants, not just pastors and church leaders, are given the t-shirt. And among other things, these sheep-ish words are a reminder to snap out of something just about every one of us is prone to do:
Keep stuff to ourselves.
It's one thing to take in
and take in and take in through the Word, books, podcasts, and
sermons. It's another to become contentedly spiritually stuffed and doze off. The high calling is to give it away as God prompts and
nudges—a simple word of wisdom gleaned from a past experience or trial, a heaven-sent download jotted down somewhere in a notebook, an affirmation of one of God's unshakeable promises learned not from going to seminary but because you've seen, felt, and tasted it to be true.
Without throwing discernment out the window, it's good
to know it's always the right season to "feed" our fellow trekkers with fuel for the Journey—whether they are lambs
in age, experience, or maturity...or older, seasoned, and perhaps a bit
too settled sheep (like ourselves, maybe?).
And not only that, someday soon—maybe even today—you'll be at your wit's end, running on empty, and
grateful to know that some other lamb or sheep on the Journey took these words to heart, too, and had some fuel to share at just the right time.
"Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." —1 Thessalonians 5:11
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