sheep

Revelation 2:4b You don't love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me & do the works you did at first.

This is part of the stuff John saw in his vision that became the book of Revelation. It was what God wanted him to say to the church at Ephesus.


I grew up on a farm. We raised sheep. Sheep don't look up as they eat. They nibble along, then take a step, nibble the grass, take a step, nibble some more, take a step...

You get the idea.

Finally, they will look up & realize they've wandered away from the flock. All of a sudden they are vulnerable to wild animals that could harm or kill them. They could be lost & never find the flock again. So then, they go wildly running around looking for the flock, baa-ing their heads off, until they find the flock, run back to the barn, or get totally lost & we (the shepherds) have to go find them.

You see the parallel between sheep & us.

We do our lives, never looking up to check with God - so preoccupied with our own little lives. We sin, we neglect our relationship with God, we are so focused in the here & now in our narrow little world.

Then we look up & realize in our self preoccupation we've wandered away from God.

How many of us allow our lives to become focused at what's happening right now in our narrow field of vision, instead of looking up into the face of God & simply following Him, & focusing on Him?

And He's pursuing us like a good shepherd, saying "come on back..."