Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Finding rest for the weary soul (Ezekiel 34:15-16) with an Aesop story.


SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 34:15-16 (TM)
And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest. I'll go after the lost, I'll collect the strays, I'll doctor the injured, I'll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong ones so they're not exploited.

STORY:
According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity.
Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, "Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bows implies."
The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, "If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it."

OBSERVATION:
Bone tired. Exhausted. Weary. That is the story of so many. To tired to take the next step. Weighed down. Burden. Breaking under the load.

If this doesn’t describe us it probably does describe someone we know.

The real question for today is this: What are going to do about it?

God is our shepherd. He will give us true rest. We know that, but does the other person? Maybe we have been placed in their pathway because God intends for us to help carry their load. To sooth their aching muscles. To listen to their woes.  To provide that rest that they cannot find anywhere else.

Just maybe, but we won’t unless we try.

PRAYER:
Thank you for giving us true rest. Now help us extend the same love and support to others.

QUOTE: by Max Lucado:
God is tireless, relentless. He refuses to quit.

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