I have in my mind's eye, the clocking into work image, of Ralph Wolf & Sam Sheepdog. These old time Saturday morning cartoon characters were consistently, and forever persistently, predictable.
Sam Sheepdog tended a grazing flock as their protector. It was Ralph Wolf's job to sneak a snack, while under the watchful, albeit covered in hair, eyes, of the canine shepherd. Before their shift started, cordial Good Morning exchanges occurred. There was an understanding, that there were no hard feelings between these play-actors: each had a role, and each took their work seriously, and it wasn't personal, when Ralph attempted to steal sheep, and Sam pounded him when caught trying.
It is looney tunes, dear reader, for us to not see that there are sheep, wolves, and shepherds, in our midst. Perhaps I have a paranoid perspective. Perhaps I am imagining things, and the world isn't a prey and predator scenario; perhaps I am way off base, and Sam Sheepdog along with Ralph Wolf, are just fun kinda guy drawings that goof around, and none of it has significance... perhaps, but I am going to say Nah, I'm not paranoid, imagining things, or off base. I am right and see clearly, what is happening all around us.
Wolves and sheep are mentioned numerous times in The Bible, here is one example from Acts 20:29:
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock
Jesus told his disciples what to expect, that there would be wolves that would not spare the flock. I have a strong tendency to take what Jesus said very seriously. Jesus called them grievous wolves. Wolves do not care how they treat their prey, they are inclined to kill and eat: compare this type of predator to a grass nibbling fluffy oaf of an animal, and you can see for yourself, how there is an evident and obvious, strength and power imbalance between the two animals.
The warning to the disciples was a necessary one, and it stands us in good stead, to be forewarned along with them. Do I fear a wolf attack in my suburban neighbourhood? No, not really. Do I suspect that there are humans that have wolfish ways? Absolutely. Am I afraid of them? Resolutely I tell you, No, not at all. While I acknowledge there are wolf like humans in our midst, I do not fear them, but I do, know what they are capable of; it is fool hardy to pretend they are not vicious, ravenous, predatory killers, that do not think twice about snatching up a vulnerable and naive sheep like human, and devouring them in their blood lust, taking all they have away, including their life, without a second thought.
Truth is stolen every day from people that seem so reasonable, so sensible, and logical. Truth stolen by Wiley wolves, can leave a person utterly unprotected and unguarded. This is how the masses are tricked out of their birthright: they believe established liars, they fall for falsehoods, and they willingly walk away from biblical truth, forsaking the safety that can only be found in the Good Shepherd's secured sheep's pen. Sam Sheepdog does his part in the cartoon to override Ralph Wolf, but in the real world, Ralph Wolf types are eating their fill, and satisfying their blood lust, on an unsuspecting and susceptible flock.
Jesus promised tribulation in this world. Jesus knows the heart thoughts of wicked wolfie types, but do you, dear reader? Do you comprehend that there is danger; that there are real predators that hunt prey minus conscience, minus any inkling that what they do, is devoid of a sense of wrongness. In other words, the wolfie types think it is their right to hunt stupid animal like sheepish humans, that are clueless about the peril they are in... Is this all too dramatic and nonsensical to you, dear one? or are you picking up what I am putting down?
I read The Bible, but I fear that few self-professing Christians actually do, which makes it much easier for them to be deceived. The Bible is cohesively cogent, and it takes a lot of effort to convolute what is plainly explained in God's comprehensive Word. The gospel is simple, with no secrets to decode, or private clubs a person must belong to, to comprehend the messages shared in scripture. No one needs to hire a helper to figure out, that man is sinful, that a Saviour came to die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice and propitiation, and that he rose again, resurrected as Redeemer, proving his divinity as prophetically predicted in Holy Writ. Jesus performed miracles and wonders and he, and he only, fulfilled all the requirements enumerated as proof of his God/Man hood.
I am happy with my faith. I am content in my beliefs. I am hopeful for humanity; for those that love the truth, and cannot help but ask God for their fulling up with Holy Ghost verity. It is possible to be saved from yourself, from your own self-importance, and natural tendencies to self-deceive, and from being other deceived too. Wolves like it when Christians are on the menu: they like it when sheep haven't a clue who the Shepherd is, what he has stated in his divinely inspired Word, or what he wants for the flock.
It behooves professing Christians to know the Good Book and by virtue of reading this Good Book, getting to know God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Discernment sharpens when we pray in faith, and dear one, faith is a preservative and shield of protection against predators that roam for the purposes of killing and destroying.
Matthew 10:6
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves
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