Shrek the Sheep

The sheep, Shrek, pictured to the right was found after hiding for six years in a cave. Obviously, with no shepherd to take care of him, his fleece grew till it weighed an astonishing 60 pounds! Most sheep have an average fleece that weighs just under ten pounds. For six years, Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece; simply because he was away from his shepherd. I think Shrek is much like a person who knows Jesus Christ but has wandered. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear.

When Shrek was found, a professional sheep shearer took care of Shrek’s fleece in twenty-eight minutes. Shrek’s sixty pound fleece was finally removed. All it took was coming home to his shepherd. I believe Christ can lift the burdens we carry, if only we stop hiding. He can shave off our “fleece”—that is, our self-imposed burdens brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:28-30

* The above excerpts were taken from http://ibibleverses.christianpost.com/story-3/story-of-faith/story-shrek-sheep.

Why do I share this with you? Because too often we forget who our Shepherd is and think we can go through life under our own understanding and power. But God tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) As we enter this new year, may we continue to look toward God to direct our paths, instead of hiding away and accumulating the extra weights of the world. By being part of a small group, we can work on our discipleship together and hopefully discern when we are letting the weights of the world weigh us down rather than allowing our Good Shepherd to direct our paths.