. . . He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)
Sheep love fresh pasture. When the shepherd leads them to
new grazing places, even the older ones kick up their heels in delight. The shepherd
moves them to keep fields from being overused, implying that for each new move,
they have munched to the full and are ready for a change.
Christians ought to be the same. That is, when God gives
me new truth, I am to read, think, meditate and apply it. Then I am to follow
His leading to the next place where He wants me to be fed. In this way, I am
nourished in spiritual truth without getting stuck or stale. Because the Lord is
faithful to do, as I read and study I can relate to those sheep leaping with
delight.
Revealing truth is the work of the Holy Spirit. I learn in
stages, and cannot feed in every pasture all at the same time. That is, if I am
obedient to what I am learning, He leads me into new pastures, continually feeding
me fresh fodder that gives my heart joy. This is as Jesus said to His disciples
. . .
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear
them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth,
for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will
speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify
me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:12–14)
God has blessed me in daily devotions for more than forty
years. Now He is also blessing me in the theology courses I’m taking. However, in
the vast reading required, one thing continues to frustrate me. Many
theologians (so called) spend years speaking and writing books in debate over
issues they cannot know with certainty. Their arguments are based on opinion
only, without any supporting evidence, scriptural or otherwise.
To me, this is a big waste of time and I think of sheep.
They move on to fresh pastures that they might flourish. No shepherd would have
them foraging on weeds or seeking food in barren places. But they also must eat
and digest where they are already placed. This is not difficult for most sheep,
but some balk at feeding and balk at moving on. I’m not sure about what goes on
in the mind of those sheep, but in God’s flock, it seems that some are more
concerning about speculating over pastures that do not exist or that are
withheld from their experience rather than eating the food they have.
Of course whenever His sheep hear some theological idea
that is new, God wants them to carefully check it out. The Jews of Berea were
said to be noble because “they received
the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these
things were so.” (Acts 17:10–12) This suggests that if the Word they
received had not been in line with the biblical account, they would reject it,
or at least set it aside until the Holy Spirit showed them otherwise.
Debating issues that cannot be known is a waste of energy.
Obeying what I do know is challenging enough. God’s fresh food requires all my
time and energy, leaving me no desire to wander about in that which has no
value. I’m very thankful that the seminary under which I am studying is
presenting spiritual truth that passes the test. While a few of their
professors make us aware of some heresies and junk that is floating around, the
focus is not on that, or even on disproving it. We are given what the Bible says
and encouraged to receive and obey it eagerly — like sheep leaping with joy
when led into fresh pasture.
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