Matthew 19:16‑22 (22)
He drove me down the streets of the exquisitely exclusive neighborhood in one of his new BMWs. He showed me the streets that were named for his children. He told me of his investments. He made sure that I felt insignificant by telling me how with his doctorate he had gained fortunate and notoriety. He assured me that now that I had my doctorate I should go back to school and get a doctorate that would make me some money. He scoffed when I made mention that there must be a lot of millionaires in that neighborhood in order to own the houses I admired. “What’s a million,†he said and drove into the drive of his palatial property.
I have often thought of that visit with my friend. And yet I can’t block out memories of the time I met the same man in an expensive hotel so that he couldn’t unburden his heartache. He had lost his wife, his children were not turning out as he had planned, and the story of hurt continued. The saddest part of this story is that this man was the son of a holiness preacher, knew God’s desire for his life and yet chose prestige, property, possession and popularity instead. He had it all and yet he had nothing. True value isn’t preceded by a dollar sign.
by Dr. Gayle Woods
John 21:1-17
We lost our cat. Oh, we know where he is. He is in the neighbor’s house next to where we used to live. We lost our cat? Yes, because of love. He was a good old cat. I even kind of liked him. That is saying a LOT. My wife and boys loved him. When we moved, however, we knew that we were going to have to do something with “Kitty.” It was when we mentioned this to our neighbor that we found that during those times when “Kitty” would disappear he was actually next door in our neighbor’s house playing with her cat. The neighbor had even been feeding “Kitty.” So, when our neighbor asked if she could have “Kitty” and showed such love and compassion in her request it seemed natural to say, “Yes.”
Jesus made a similar comparison. He called us sheep. This is not a compliment at all! Sheep are pretty dumb and completely dependable. They need someone to care for them. He was leaving, however, and needed someone to care for His “pets.” Feed my sheep. That is a call to ministry. That is a call to love. Jesus dearly loves His sheep and wants His love channeled through us to His “pets.” His call includes finding lost sheep (evangelism), and protecting/ feeding sheep (discipleship). When He returns from His trip He will hold us accountable for how well we have done in caring for His “pets.”
Dr. Gayle Woods
