What Does It Mean To Be Like Sheep, Doves, And Serpents?
Good Morning Friends,
Look Ma, no hands! It dawned on me yesterday that the one thing the three animals in today’s scripture have in common is that they have no hands. What is this all about? After yesterday’s devotional I was sure we are to use our hands but what Jesus is saying is that we are to have enough faith to have a balance of not depending on our own efforts. Oh we are to have personal responsibility but think about what it means to be in the world but not of it. Reminds me of Daniel in the lion’s den…blameless. So let us think about today’s question: What Does It Mean To Be Like Sheep, Doves, And Serpents?
Scripture: “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 (NRSV)
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:20 (NRSV)
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
Acts 16:25-34 (NRSV)
Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
Philippians 1:15-18 (NRSV)
My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”
Daniel 6:22 (NRSV)
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Isaiah 6:8 (NRSV)
Message: When Jesus sent out the disciples to share the Gospel he knew it would not be easy. That is why he sent them out in pairs. We do not always know who went with whom but we do know that they were like sheep in the midst of wolves. When Paul was commissioned and sent out he continued the work in tandem, as in today’s scripture, with Silas. The attitude of the two is amazing. Paul was genuine, spill over the edge, overflowing, in spite of pain and suffering and torture, happy. Not happy because of the circumstances, but joyous in spite of them. He does not tell you how to be happy, he does something much better…he shows us. He sings in jail, prays for others, he saves a man’s life, he converts the jailer and his family to this joy of being a Christian, baptizing them all at three a.m. in the morning after an earthquake. Read the story in Acts 16 about Paul’s experience in Philippi. It is as if nature wants to announce that the revelation of Christ cannot be contained, chained or controlled. No wonder Paul was unconcerned about trouble makers. Paul experienced Jesus from the inside out. Jesus overflowed through him. That is why he was a master at teaching. He embodied what he wanted to teach. He saw with the eyes of faith…the faith of a sheep with the reasoning of a snake in the presence of the peace of the Holy Spirit. Paul and Silas were joyous because they had developed the discipline of perspective… seeing things as God would have you see them and finally Paul also had the discipline of delayed gratification. Paul was joyous because he was leaving a legacy behind. He was storing up a treasure in heaven. Paul and Silas found joy in the midst of a difficult assignment…they were sheep in the midst of wolves. Here it is important to realize that the Holy Spirit will help us to overcome our fear. Perhaps our fear is of powers and principalities that have gotten priorities out of balance. Perhaps our fear is that our priorities are not in balance. It is here, in this tension between faith and reason, that the Holy Spirit will help us expand the borders of God’s blessings if we but follow His agenda. God wants us to see His Hand at work in our world. God desires for us to discover what really matters. So there will always be some tension in saying to the Lord, “Send me!” Whether it is in worshipping or witnessing…whether is it in helping others in His Holy presence or in loving God and loving our neighbors. It is here we move from fear to faith. It is here we get our priorities straight. Here we overcome the obstacles that separate us from Jesus’ agenda. Here we discover the blessings He has prepared for us in His service. Here we get confirmation of God’s work in the world and not just choose a door to enter but enter it with courage and the right attitude balancing faith and reason…innocence and wisdom all in the presence of the Holy Spirit. So friends, both the snake like intelligence and the dove like innocence are both designed to keep the sheep out of trouble. Jesus does not mean for us to get ourselves into as much difficulty as possible. God knows we are as dumb as sheep. Still God wants us to risk our lives as vulnerable, non-combative, sheep, as courageous witnesses following the Shepherd, but try to find ways to give our witness in a way that does not bring down unnecessary persecution. We are to be balanced and transformed…blameless and courageous.
Pray we realize that we need to put on the armor of God because we are surrounded by wolves ready to eat us alive. Pray we prepare ourselves to go where God calls us to go. Pray we realize that no one is exempt from the great commission though not all are sent. Pray we are prepared for the opposition. Pray that despite the suffering we still follow Jesus. Pray we have a balance of wisdom and innocent humility.
Pray we radically reverse our way of thinking about God and His demands. Pray we have faith and reason. Pray we realize that the church cannot have unity without both knowledge and love. Pray we grow in the tension and balance between duty and devotion…faith and reason… enlightened by the words of Christ. Pray we not try to do this on our own. Pray we realize that God has the authority to intervene and shut the mouths of wolves as he did with the mouths of the lions that surrounded Daniel and as God did in the story of Paul and Silas.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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