Shadow and Shade

 

It was 40 degrees when I took this photo at my son’s farm and noticed these sheep making the most of a lovely shady Plane Tree in front of the house.

These ticular sheep are rather special as the mothers are pets that belong to my son and his family. Now they and their lambs are not human nevertheless they all think that they are part of his family and naturally expect to be treated as such; therefore they are given special treatment and enjoy special treats that other sheep never have and don’t even know about.

Being a committed Christian is like that; the 91^st Psalm says that if we dwell in a close relationship with God “we shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” and that is a lovely place to be; if these sheep didn’t come near to the trunk of the tree they wouldn’t be covered by its shade. Likewise, if we don’t draw near to God we won’t receive His protecting benefits either, and as the sheep learn to trust their owner (or shepherd) with the equivalent of the “faith of a little child” that Jesus spoke about, then all sorts of benefits and privileges follow.

 For us, this “close relationship” is with God and comes about by our accepting His forgiveness as we believe in Jesus and then follow His commandments. Having done that we feel the confidence the sheep in the photo have as they consider themselves to be part of my son’s family. The question that arises in some people’s minds is: “can we really have a relationship like that with God?” And the answer is: “we sure can” because when God created people it was His original intention for them to have that close relationship with Him, but we forfeited that right by letting  sin come between Him and us . Interestingly the bible says “All we like sheep have gone astray and turned each one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on himself the iniquity of us all”. However even though we are beneficiaries under His New Testament the benefits are not ours until we claim them by the “simple act” of repenting and believing in Jesus which reinstates us as “children of God, and if children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ”. (Well when I say “simple act”, God made it simple for us but it was very costly for Jesus). Then of course, with that forgiveness and reinstatement comes the assurance that “all things work together for good for those that love God” and also His promise that He “will be with us in trouble, deliver us and honour us, with long life He will satisfy us and show us His salvation”.

If you haven’t already made a commitment like we’ve been discussing above, and are thinking of making a New Year’s Resolution, you couldn’t do better than to decide to do what is outlined there and thus assure yourself of Eternal Happiness and Contentment starting right now and lasting forever.

Best wishes as you ponder this. Have a very happy and blessed New Year.

Regards, Tom.

 

Bible references used: Isaiah 53:6, Romans 8:17, Psalm 91, Romans 8:28.