The Parable of the Bell Sheep {Greatest Hits}

This Friday will be the 10th anniversary of my first blog post here. Below I offer you the essay which has the most views (by a long shot). It has been such an important theme in my life, and in some ways it feels like our whole world is in the middle of the story right now. May the Lord open our hearts to the love and goodness He offers in the midst of and because of our pain.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones You have crushed rejoice.

(Psalm 51:8, HCSB)

A mentor introduced me to the following idea almost two decades ago.  The image has reemerged in my thinking in multiple circumstances recently, so the time seemed right to share my storification of it with you.


            Once upon a time, a good, wise, loving Shepherd bought a foolish and bedraggled little sheep to save her from the slaughterhouse her wicked former owner intended for her.  Finding her in dangerous woods, He drew her to Himself, quickly winning her love and obedience by His tender care.

After awhile, though, she grew tired of simply following the Shepherd and enjoying His presence and began to wander about in search of opportunities to help and serve her Master.  Eagerly, she would trot off in search of imperiled sheep who had gotten lost or hurt.  Unfortunately, she often ended up lost, too, in the attempt to bring them back.  She never minded her trials, since through them He found other lost sheep, as well.  More than once, she herself was wounded by wolves or bears (or her own foolhardiness) attempting to rescue other wounded woolies.  Never complaining, she wore her war-wounds proudly as emblems of her dedicated service.

Without fail, the Shepherd rescued her and brought her back, but the wayward, well-intentioned little lamb grieved Him.  His desire was for her more than her wearing herself out in effort to please Him, and His greatest delight was in having her follow close by His side.  Since she had never taken the time truly to know Him, she remained ignorant of His sorrow, until He finally stopped her wandering by breaking one of her legs.

Bleating in pain and astonishment, she kicked and bit and refused His kind overtures of comfort.  Eventually, however, she grew too exhausted from the struggle to fight anymore.  In her silent, helpless weariness, He bound up her wounds and cradled her tenderly, carrying her in His arms until her leg healed and she could walk again.

As she recovered, she learned to know the Shepherd’s heartbeat.  She grew to love the mere pleasure of His nearness.  Far greater than the superficial adrenaline rush of her former labors, her greatest joy became simply that of belonging to Him.

When her leg healed, and the Shepherd set her down to walk again, she no longer desired to wander from His side.  In recognition of the change and as a reminder of her own brokenness, her Shepherd placed a bell around her neck.  This way as she followed close by Him, the bell continually testified to the presence of her Good Shepherd.  Wandering sheep often heard the bell and followed its ring back to His side.  Wounded or cast sheep heard His approach and bleated for help, and the bell sheep would trot along beside Him, ringing the good news that helps was on its way, as He went to their rescue.

This “service” proved far more satisfying, as the glory all went to the goodness of her Shepherd.  Moreover, He used her to accomplish His work without her ever leaving His side.  While she never wanted to repeat the brokenness, she would never have traded the lessons learned through it.  She finally discovered her Shepherd was all she needed when He was all she had, and the pain of the process paled in the beauty of His preciousness.

The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.

(Psalm 34:18, HCSB)

Bereavement {a poem}

In one swift stroke

The sharp scalpel of sudden loss

Slices away soul calluses,

Exposing quick and tender heart beneath.

Laughter and tears alike

Bubble over more quickly now,

And keenly.

Her glad tidings, his courageous witness,

Every family celebration,

New thorn of affliction,

Persistent pierce of the old

That had become normal—

All sting as they prod

That raw place

Left by loved one lost.

Each "first" passes with wistful weeping

And the ache of remembrance.

Slowly, inscrutably,

The soul accrues fresh calluses

To shelter the quick and tender heart

From the vicissitudes of postlapsarian life,

Until the scalpel strikes again,

Until the woman's Seed shatters it in pieces

And wipes away all tears,

Our hearts made whole.

The long night shortens.

Soon we shall weep no more.

Endure: 5-Minute Friday

Endure:

The very word evokes

Teeth gritted in determination,

Toughing it out.

I don't even need to unclench my jaw

To spit out the word.

Hupomeno, though:

The Bible word begins with an exhale,

Tells a different story--

To remain under,

To stay and not flee,

To hold fast and not retreat,

To dwell under the yoke with Christ

And not to look for shortcuts,

Escape routes.

Will I pitch my tent

In the barren waste of wilderness

Because the pillar of Shekinah glory fire

Hovers overhead

And warms the night?

Will I step into the raging furnace

And let the Fourth Man

Loose my bonds

And companion me there?

Will I abide in the fiery trials

Without numbing,

With surrender

And submission,

For the sake of knowing better

The fellowship of His sufferings?

Will I pray,

"Thy will be done,"

Though it cost me bloody sweat

And a cross of pain,

Rejection,

Derision?

Will I trust Him enough

To wait

And stay

And listen

And watch for His appearing?

Lord Jesus,

Make a way out of the desert,

Flames,

Gethsemane,

Quickly, if You will;

And grant me the courage to endure

With patience

And hope

Until You show Yourself strong

For those whose hearts are completely Yours.

Transformed by Truth {Book Review}

      More than a decade ago, my husband and I had the privilege of walking alongside a small group of bright students through 3 1/2 years of their high school journey. The Tuesday Night Tangent Society members are all grown up now. Some are married. One just completed his M.Div. and was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Communion.

We studied Ephesians, the beatitudes, the life of David, and 1 John. We divided the group by gender for some of the discipleship and prayer. If I had it to do over again, the element I would most like to add is training in Bible study methods. We did try to incorporate those principles in our lessons, to teach by example, but those concepts are so important that they deserve undivided attention. Time spent learning how to study the Scriptures will pay dividends the rest of one's life.

"The goal of Bible reading and study is worship. Not finding more rules to follow. Not finding reasons to feel good about ourselves. The goal is to see God in all his glory and to enjoy him" (p. 150).

Katherine Forster's 2019 release Transformed by Truth (Crossway) is the book I wish we'd had for that group. Forster, a National Bible Bee Champion, writes as a teen for teens, to inspire and instruct them to read and study their Bibles for themselves as a means of knowing and loving God more. That factor sets this book apart from other guides to inductive Bible study like Jen Wilkin's Women of the Word, Kay Arthur's How to Study Your Bible, and Howard Hendricks's Living by the Book.   The principles she communicates are essentially the same as the ones in those books. The writing style, examples, and tone here lend themselves better to a high school or even early college audience. I had considered working through this with 11 year-old and 13 year-old family members this summer, but I think it would be just a smidge over their heads (and therefore frustrating). 

For nearly half the book, Forster lays a foundation: why teen years are not too young to establish a personal Bible study practice, the relational and transformational goal of Bible study, the "big picture" of the Bible as one unified narrative, and the gist of inductive Bible study method. Then she dives deeply into observation, interpretation, and application with ample examples, tips, suggested free online resources, and questions that guide the reader in personal practice of the principles.  (Those would work great in a small group setting.) Throughout, she emphasizes the need to saturate Bible study with prayer.

She does a good job of continually bringing the reader back to the goal of knowing and loving God, even through some academic and seemingly rote exercises:

Remember—the Bible is all about God. The ultimate end of our study should be to see him and delight in who he is. Making lists doesn't seem very worshipful or spiritual; it seems academic. But as you write down everything the text says about God, you'll see more clearly who he is. Aspects of his character that you never noticed may pop out to you. In writing everything down, you'll get a chance to slow down and meditate on God's character and works (p. 127).

 

The end notes and appendix listing recommended resources provide plenty of leads for further learning and do credit to the author's reading and study of her topic. As befits a Bible Bee champion, she also includes an appendix on memorization tips.

In summary, Forster has provided a well-written, accessible guide for teens and those who love them on how to love God more through studying His Word well. (As an added benefit, the same close-reading skills taught here and cultivated in inductive Bible study will improve reading of other material in all aspects of life.) I highly recommend Transformed by Truth to parents, youth leaders, and self-motivated teens. Adult readers will benefit too, even though the examples will not suit them as well. I only wish the target audience were a few years younger, but boys grow quickly, and they will soon catch up to this book. 

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If you’d like to delve a bit deeper before deciding, here are two free sample articles by Forster on the publisher's website:

https://www.crossway.org/articles/help-i-want-to-read-the-bible-but-i-find-it-boring/

https://www.crossway.org/articles/help-i-cant-stay-consistent-with-my-bible-reading-2/

To purchase:

Directly from the publisher: https://www.crossway.org/books/transformed-by-truth-tpb/

Christian Book Distributors: https://www.christianbook.com/transformed-truth-study-bible-yourself-teen/katherine-forster/9781433564055/pd/564055?event=ESRCG

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/transformed-by-truth-katherine-forster/1130073112;jsessionid=2D2441C4FA56D98F394024238CAD9DC8.prodny_store02-atgap18?ean=9781433564055

Amazon (affiliate link; at no extra cost to you, I will receive a tip for the referral): https://amzn.to/2C9Oqz8 

For the Birds {Just Photos}

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

- Matthew 6:25-28

Cedar Waxwing

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Carolina Wren

Dark-eyed Junco

Orange-crowned Warbler

House Finch

White-winged Dove

Mississippi Warbler

Downy Woodpecker

White-winged Dove

Eastern Screech Owl

Tufted Titmouse

Mississippi Kite

Blue Jay

European Starling

Mallards

House Sparrows