In a piece entitled, “The Astronaut,” q.v. I asked a series of questions to myself, and then I solicited responses from my faithful readers.
If I don’t spend time in prayer, I am sinning in unbelief, [thus,] do I not believe that God is there? Do I not believe that He is Who [He says] He is? Do I not believe that He will do what He says He will do?
There were many thoughtful responses, however, one both troubled and convicted me.
We are forever secure because of Jesus shed blood, His Resurrection, and [His] Ascension. When we repented of our sin [and] were forgiven, . . . we are kept by the power of God. John 10:27-30. Could [a] lack of desire indicate one is not a sheep? (Emphasis added.)
Am I Not a Sheep? For an answer, I go to the Scriptures. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.” (NIV.) One whose counsel I most trust is that of my daughter, Amy. She is a Godly woman who is a wise counselor as her high school students will attest. When I am deeply troubled, I seek her counsel. I base this piece on her response to the question of whether I am, indeed, one of Christ’s sheep.
Amy reminds me, infra, that human relationships ebb and flow. Our human emotions, and thus relationships – because relationships are inextricably intertwined with emotions – run hot and cold. Sometimes our relationships sizzle like the sidewalk in downtown Montgomery in the middle of July, and sometimes they freeze as icy as the stare of your ex-spouse upon seeing you with your new one in a restaurant.
It is to humans that God has given time and the events of time. These events affect us. Some would argue that to some extent, these events, or at least our reactions to them, are what make us who we are. (That may sound a little like “psycho-babble,” but bear with me.)
For whatever reasons, I’m “feelings – challenged.” As relates to most everyone except Amy, I always keep an emotional distance out of an irrational fear of being rejected, told that I’m not “good enough,” or ultimately deserted.
For better or worse, I learned from my adopted, single-parent mother that “to love is to do rather than to feel.” I’ve never gotten over that, and it has been a handicap in relationships with which I have had trouble.
In reply to my query, Amy asked, “Would ‘Not a Sheep’ even be contemplating these things, asking these questions, praying for people, or holding [telephone] conversations with elderly church members?” She cites pertinent scriptures addressing the subject of doubt.
As for Our Lord’s dealings with doubt, Amy cites Mark 9:24. “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Jesus did help the man’s unbelief and healed his child. Further, Amy adds that Matthew 26:41 quotes Jesus as saying, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Weak, indeed. (KJV.)
The Apostle Paul wrestled with personal doubt in Romans 7:15-20, a doubt that he ultimately resolves, at least, theoretically, if not practically. Note his use of the pronoun, “I.”
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do. . . For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (NIV.)
“Counselor Amy” continues.
If our desire, or dedication, or faith never wavered, would we even be human? Or in a true relationship? Do we always feel a “desire” for our spouse? Does that make us any less married? Relationships ebb and flow because we are human. God does not . . . Yet, in His steadfastness, He is able to absorb/provide for/redeem our fickleness, and He desires relationship with us none-the-less. Jeremiah 17:9 provides, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
In a passage that is the subject of sermons from both of my pastors, Jay and Alan, Amy continues.
Are real sheep always concerned with the shepherd? No, they’re concerned with a hungry belly even when it leads them into trouble. Are they any less sheep? [The s] ame [obtains] with children, etc. However, the Good Shepherd [and] the Good Father love, lead, provide, and protect just the same. . . “His sheep know His voice.”
How many . . . times have you and I been loved, led, provided for, and protected by our God [even when] we didn’t feel especially interested in the things of God? How many times has He spoken truth to us through lots of different avenues [even when] we weren’t particularly asking or [even when] maybe we were trying NOT to listen[?] “Not a Sheeps (sic.”) do not experience these things! Without the Holy Spirit’s prompting, they don’t even care or notice. . .
She closes, “From one sheep to another, may your soul find peace and a renewed heart’s desire in the Truth” of the 23rd Psalm, q.v. All I can add is. . .
So let it be written, so let it be done.
johnthebaptist15 