Living where the Grass is always Greener

Enjoying the life of supply, rest and safety that belongs to God's flock

By: Rick Spinos

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

All throughout the pages of Scripture, God has defined and expressed the character and nature of his people using different metaphors. One of these metaphors, describes God’s people as a flock of sheep and Christians as lambs that he calls individually by name. This metaphor describes the relationship between God and his people as that of one between a shepherd and his sheep. God says that we are his sheep. We are spiritual lambs and sheep. Perhaps you may be thinking, “For the love of God, no, I am not a sheep! Sheep are dumb! Sheep are clueless! What a put down! Why would God insult us by calling us sheep?” Perhaps God could have used an alternate metaphor and referred to his people as his pet dogs. I know many people like dogs and keep dogs as pets. Isn’t it true that dogs are man’s best friend? Let’s face it, dog lovers probably wonder if any other animal is as pleasant as a household dog. I mean, dogs are never in a bad mood, always upbeat and affectionate and faithful to a fault. Could it be that God has overlooked the most awesome metaphor for church members possible? The fact is that in God's Word, dogs are associated with the ungodly. The Bible instructs us to beware of dogs! Nope, we are not God’s puppies; we are his sheep! Before you begin to think that God has labeled us as the sheep of his flock in order to unduly humble us and take away our dignity as beings created in his image, I would like to suggest that we question the notion that sheep are indeed stupid animals. Sheep definitely possess some major limitations, but lack of intelligence is not one of them. I have heard of farmers in sheep country who fence off their property and install metal grates under open gates in the attempt to prevent sheep from invading their pastures while permitting vehicles to freely enter and exit the property. The ingenuity of these farmers was foiled however by supposedly stupid sheep that figured out that if they would walk up to the grates and flop over on their side, they could roll across the grades jump to their feet and eat their fill of grass before the farmers perceived what was happening. No, sheep are not stupid and neither are people! Nevertheless, I want to challenge you to consider the reasons why God has chosen to call us the sheep of his flock. In this book, we will consider the church as a flock of sheep. My goal is to help you discover what God wants you to understand concerning the nature of sheep, how they interact with their shepherd and the nature of their life together in the flock. Then, through a deeper understanding of the dynamics of flocks of sheep, I will suggest how to apply these natural aspects of the shepherd/sheep relationship to our spiritual relationship to God as our shepherd, to church leaders as his under-shepherds, to each other as fellow sheep and to the enemy. I urge you to open your heart to the spirit of the metaphor of the flock. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you read these pages and apply the implications of this metaphor and the spiritual principles that it presents to your walk with Christ. The fruit of embracing the principles of this metaphor is the rest and blessing of lying in green pastures and enjoying the abundant life that Christ offers, where the grass is always greener on your side of the fence. Embrace the aspects of your identity as one of God’s sheep recognizing that our Lord was not ashamed to be called the “Lamb of God.” Devour these pages in the spirit of God’s truth! Bon Appetite!