We're moving out of our apartment, so I've been keeping inventory of our food & supplies in an attempt to minimize what we have to take with us. Just a few days ago, I calculated the number of days we have remaining here and concluded that, in fact, we DO HAVE ENOUGH toilet paper.
It's kind of funny, isn't it? Putting that much thought into it…Or, the fact that I'm posting about it on social media.
But, the recent, large number of people rushing to the store to stock up on paper products - that's not funny. That's fear.
It's easy to get caught up in it! Just this morning, going down my mental list of things to do today, I considered, "Should I go to the store and buy toilet paper?" Afterthought: They might be sold out. Next thought: I wasn't even planning to go to the store today.
Soon, Lord willing, JC & I will be travelling to Haiti with our beloved Ken & Rhonda Bever and Hope for Haiti's Children. Ken asked me to prepare a bible lesson to share with our sisters in Christ there. In the process of developing a lesson I keep reminding myself we don't speak the same language, and we'll have a translator. So, with this in mind, I keep simplifying and minimizing the content of my message.
I look forward to sharing with the ladies of Haiti what I've learned about sheep. So many facts to choose from, but one simple fact about sheep is this: They are followers.
I once read an alarming story…
| Turkish sheep die in 'mass jump' |
| Turkish shepherds watched in horror as hundreds of their sheep followed each other over a cliff, say Turkish newspaper reports. First one sheep went over the cliff edge, only to be followed by the whole flock, according to the reports. More than 400 sheep died in the 15-meter fall - their bodies cushioning the fall of 1,100 others who followed.The sheep belonged to villagers in the eastern Van province. Papers say the sheep were worth around £42,000 in all. "Every family had an average of 20 sheep," One villager told the Aksam daily newspaper."But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us." http://news.bbc.co.uk/ |
I think of a dear, believing brother of ours and a term he frequently uses to describe people who go along with the multitude: Sheeple.
He makes a good point. We see, on television, empty store shelves and our imaginations run wild. We begin to envision nationwide quarantines, desolate streets, armed soldiers, starvation…and toilet paper in short supply.
Sheep keep their eyes on each other, seeing safety in numbers.
But it is not this way with followers of the good shepherd.
What is His perspective?
Seeing the [a]people, He felt compassion for them,
because they were distressed and dispirited
like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36 NASB
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 9:36 a crowd, multitude, the common people
This year I am reading, daily, the holy bible; utilizing the chronological format on our congregation's website: http://pleasanthillchurchofchrist.org/Chrono/chronoprint.php
The Old Testament is a very graphic portrayal of the character of God. He was so direct and clear in His instruction of how His people of Israel were to conduct themselves. Through Moses, He instructed them:
"The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you;
He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.
Do not fear or be dismayed."
Deuteronomy 31:8 NASB
In the same way, His Son the Christ assures us:
'teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.'
Matthew 28:20 NASB
Google.com defines fear - an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
an unpleasant emotion
I recognize, because I am a woman, I have a tendency to be emotional. My husband JC, however, does not. Therefore, if he decides we should stock up on toilet paper and tells me to do so, then I will.
In the meantime, I'm going to go about this day with its tasks, focusing on obeying God's instruction by the apostle Paul:
2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB
We are destroying speculations
and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,
and we are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ,
'My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them,
and they follow Me'
John 10:27 NASB