Sheep and Trouble

We just had our Children's Christmas Musical last Sunday.   It was called the Backwards Christmas Musical because the story was told well...backwards.  The premise was that one of the wise people had a soccer game and couldn't stay to do his part at the end of the pagent so everyone did the play backwards - Act 3 (Wise People, Herod, etc.) went first and then they did Act 2 (Shepherds and Angels) then Act 1 (Mary and the Angel).  Throughout the play the sheep (played by six preschoolers) were intertwined with the storyline, - even in King Herods palace.  The sheep were adorable and one sheep in particular was having quite a time on stage.  Let's just say, he loved having an audience. 

The kids did great and story of the birth of Jesus was told in a different manner but never veered from the importance and significance of this event.  The "wayward" sheep was actually timely.  There was even a line from one of the shepherds that said something like "let's go to Bethlehem and see this baby...leave the sheep, how much trouble can they cause?"

Someone sent our pastor an e-mail and in it they said how much they enjoyed the children's program and how they LOVED the sheep.  Then they said that most people would have taken that little sheep off the stage but how we let him keep coming back.  The person then said - "I want to be part of a church where the wayward sheep gets another chance to get it right.  When we do that, we honor the heart of our Shepherd."  That got me thinking.  How many times do we see people doing things that they know they aren't suppose to be doing and wanting to "take them off the stage".  It would be so much easier if everyone acted like you wanted them to, but guess what, not everyone wants to behave like you want them to - that whole "free will" thing you know.  It's hard to give people second chances or third chances or ...you get the point, but you never know how our actions and words can make an impact on others.

We are called to love others.  I'm going to try to pay more attention to others around me - look people in the eye in a grocery store and smile as an example.  We live in a hurried world where we have no time for the wandering sheep...let's slow down and honor the heart of our Shepherd.