Living Where the Grass Is Always Greener

Throughout the pages of Scripture, God has expressed the character of his people using different metaphors. One of these metaphors is that which describes the church as a flock of sheep. 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?" The purpose of metaphors in the Bible is to cause us to see and understand word pictures in the natural realm in order to discern their application in the spiritual realm with more clarity. In order to understand how God intends for us to behave and to act we have to understand his wisdom in choosing each metaphor in a way that vividly points to the different aspects of our relationship with him. I believe that God chose the metaphor of the family because he wants us to understand that just as the members of a loving and healthy earthly family love each other with brotherly love, we must also love each other and be committed to each other with godly love as members of God's spiritual family. As God's people, we are a group of individuals that share the same spiritual last name and "divine blood" ties that unite us together in spiritual unity. In families, the older ones take care of the younger ones and lead them to maturity just as we should do in the church. In the first book of this series, "The Church: The Family we hate to love" I presented an in-depth discussion of the implications of family relationships as God's spiritual family. In the second book of this series, "The God Invasion" my aim was to demonstrate how God chose the metaphor of a nation and its military in order to show us the nature of our relationship with him as soldiers in his army that recognize the need to constantly engage the correct enemy in the midst of spiritual battle. In this book, we will now 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