A Letter From Christine

I’ve been thinking about sheep. Probably because I just watched The Sheep Detectives — which I highly recommend, by the way, a delightful movie! The movie features a good shepherd, and I got to thinking how Jesus said we are sheep and he is the good shepherd.

I then started thinking about wolves. Wolves don’t charge into the middle of the sheep and attack the biggest ram. They are sly creatures. They slink around the fringes of the flock, studying them, and pounce on the weakest ones.

And Satan does the same thing with us. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” Peter wrote (1 Peter 5:8).

And he attacks us at our weak points. He likes to sow doubts in our minds and dazzle us with visions of glories that could be ours. Just look at his conversation with Eve. “Did God really say this?” he asked her. Just look at this luscious fruit. You won’t die if you eat it, he told her; your eyes will be opened “and you will be like God.”

Eve could have gone on just quoting God. But instead she took her eyes off of God and focused on the fruit and on herself. The fruit was “pleasing to the eye,” good to eat and “also desirable for gaining wisdom.” From her point of view, anyway. So — ignoring God’s point of view, “she took some and ate it.”

Humans are still all too susceptible to moving their focus away from God and onto themselves and their own desires. If you read the Old Testament, you’ll see that sums up the entire history of Israel. 

Paul later told the Ephesians (Ephesians 6: 13-17) how to prepare themselves for these attacks with God’s armor. The helmet of salvation, to protect your thoughts. The breastplate of righteousness, protecting your heart. The belt of truth — the best way to counter Satan’s lies is with God’s truth. And “with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” — ready to keep you busy going about on God’s business. And in front of all these, the shield of faith, “with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” And in your hands the sword of the Spirit, “which is the word of God.”

Note that Paul didn’t say to wait until you sense an imminent attack to start strapping on your armor. We are to have it on at all times. One synonym for “attack” is “ambush.” If we lay aside our armor for even a moment, Satan will ambush us.

Jesus calmly used the sword of the Spirit when Satan tempted him in the wilderness, answering everything Satan said by quoting scripture. You can read the story in Matthew 4. Note that those three scriptures are the ONLY words Jesus said to Satan. He did not attempt to answer him in any other way or argue with him. He just stood strong in his armor and repelled the attacks. "Then the devil left him,” Matthew wrote.

If you look at the list of our armor of God, you’ll see that the sword is the only weapon that’s included. Every other piece of the armor is for defense. Our weapon — the only weapon that works — is God’s Word.

So what kind of sheep am I? Do I trust my Shepherd at all times? Or do I sometimes stray off into my own path? Okay, let’s be honest here. I’m human. Of course I stray. Thanks be to God, when that happens, because of what Jesus did, I can repent, ask for forgiveness and be welcomed right back into the fold and on the only safe path, the one God has for me. Among my prayers, I ask that God will always help me see when I have gone astray. And help me keep my armor in place and my sword sharp and at the ready.