LABELS

I still chuckle over certain scenes from the 1965 film, “The Sound of Music,” featuring an inexperienced but perceptive novice-turned nanny, “Maria,” played by Julie Andrews. She's come to the mansion of a widowed military captain and his seven children, who are are summoned (by military whistle) to line up like soldiers, by age, to meet her. 

One by one, they step forward to announce their name, plus the behavioral labels either their father or previous nanny had given them.(1) One of the boys says, I”m Friedrich and I'm impossible.” Another says, “I'm Kurt, I'm eleven and I'm incorrigible.” Then he asks the new nanny, “What does 'incorrigible' mean?” The new nanny replies that it's a term for “someone who wants to be treated as a boy.”

In viewing that movie clip recently (oh, the warm fuzzy memories of that film) I found myself remembering labels others gave me. Graduating high school in the top ten of my class, I glowed under the labels of “scholar” and “concert-mistress of the orchestra.” As the years progressed, with more education and jobs, I was encouraged and motivated by those who recognized my passions, hard work, and desire to work as a “team member” in the company or academic setting.

But God wasn't finished with me. He led me into other chapters of life around people who couldn't push past life's difficult places, and who unfairly blamed others for their failures and unhappiness. I wearied from dealing with their anger issues and blaming behaviors. These trials also pushed me closer to my Heavenly Father, Who knew my heart and also heard my continuing prayers for such people. His Spirit's role as “Comforter” became more real.

This topic has recently returned to my heart as I re-read a classic Christian “journey” book. Most people know about John Bunyan's allegory, “Pilgrim's Progress” (first published 1678) and its main character's refining trials on the journey to the “Celestial City” (Heaven). The book I read, Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard (copyright 1955), is much like it. The main character named “Much Afraid” journeys through danger and hard terrain to the “High Place” that is an analogy for Heaven. “Much Afraid” doesn't travel alone, but with two companions named “Sorrow” and “Suffering.” After she reaches the summit, conquering her many fears, she returns to her valley of service, transformed by her trials and now given a new name by her loving Shepherd.

As you might guess, the Shepherd is symbolic of the Lord Jesus, and her journey up the mountain (to grow in faith through trials) is simply preparation to return to her valley in service to Him.

If you've never read these books, consider doing so. Allegories about the Christian walk are powerful teachers—and incentives for our own “pilgrim's progress” which may push us onward through the tedious spiritual journey of “this world” to the heaven-pointing “High Places” closer to God. It's what turns “incorrigible” into the “possible” of a mature relationship with God. To a someday celestial scene where we can step forward and say, “I'm (name), and I am beloved in His sight.”

Speaking of names, don't forget the golden clue Revelation 2:17 gives us about names in Heaven: “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on it, which no one knows except the one who receives it.”

By the way, the main character of Hinds' Feet on High Places, at the end of the book is given a new name. No longer known as “Much Afraid,” she becomes “Grace and Glory.” How fitting, How beautiful.

(1) Enjoy this memorable “Sound of Music” movie scene again online: Bing Videos

Fences: two sides of one story

The proverb, “Good fences make good neighbors” exists in various languages and cultures, but now is most associated with Robert Frost’s 1914 poem “Mending Wall.” The poem tells of two neighbors who, every spring, together mend the fence dividing their properties. Similarly, Ben Franklin said, “Love your neighbor, yet don’t pull down your hedge.”
Both sayings, I think, suggest that some sort of separation is helpful in tenuous relationships. They also imply how we live in a fallen world with negative, hurting people.  As Proverbs observes and warns: 
“Do not accuse a man for no reason—when he has done you no harm.” (Proverbs 3:30)
“A perverse person stirs up conflict.” (Proverbs 16:28)
“Every fool is quick to quarrel.” (Proverbs 20:3)
“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered.” (Proverbs 22:24)
In today’s mental health language, dealing with such people may require setting “boundaries” that control contact. Although I try to be an approachable person, wise friends helped me realize my need of boundaries when targeted by ongoing hostile words and actions. I found insight about this in Safe People, a book by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend (Zondervan, 1995).  They pointed out how people who have unresolved grief and hurt tend to withdraw and lash out at the very people (their “safe” people) who could help them move toward emotional wellness. Sadly, when these “safe” people react with “fences” or boundaries, the “unsafe” are deeply offended, even though their own behavior purchased the boards, hammer, and nails.  

In seeking Biblical perspective on this complicated issue, I felt drawn to John 10, the “I am the Good Shepherd” chapter:

I am the gate for the sheep....The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full....I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:7, 10, 14)
The phrase “He laid down his life” for the sheep brings to mind, of course, His death on the cross for my sins. The analogy to a sheepfold is so tender. In ancient rugged lands, rocks were cheap and accessible building materials for livestock pens. Some shepherds topped the walls with thorny brambles, an early version of today’s barbed wire. At night, a shepherd would herd his animals in the sheepfold. If it lacked a door or gate, he would become the “gate” himself by sitting or lying across the entrance. Any harm had to encounter him first.

This helped me see that sometimes, when faced with hurtful people, I need to prayerfully set up “fences” with Jesus guarding my heart’s gate. This doesn’t mean I am rejecting that person, but that I am seeking protection from the Savior who cares about both sides of the fence. His love is truly boundless love.

Making 'Psense' of Psalms--Psalm 23: Shepherd

 

Lambs from the flock of one of my friends. She was always
glad to show her sheep to visitors.  One time I took my mother-
in-law, then in her 80s, who thrilled to bottle-feed an orphan lamb.

"Is it a need or a want? That phrase sometimes came into family discussions about things our children’s friends had, and they didn’t. Living on a school teacher’s salary meant lowered expectations of “want,” while thanking God for giving us what we needed.  I sometimes think of that when I read the first verse of Psalm 23 in four-hundred-year-old vocabulary: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  Read through the linguistic lenses of the 21^st century, it seems to imply that we will have no expectations, no desires--something like zombies. Nothing could be further than scriptural truth. More accurately, as some translations render it, “I shall not be in want.” Or, “I shall lack nothing.” The God who formed every fiber of my being, and knows my innermost thoughts, is my provider in every way: body, mind, and spirit.

Our understanding of this beloved psalm was given a boost with the 1970 release of Philip Keller’s A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. A pastor and author, for eight years Keller was a shepherd, gaining insight into the tasks so perfectly applied as Psalm 23’s spiritual metaphor. Although Jesus, like other Jewish boys, learned his father’s life skill—in this case, carpentry--we don’t think of him as “Jesus, the Good Carpenter.” Wood is inanimate and yields to the saw, hammer, and chisel. But sheep are very needy living creatures—yes, mostly “dumb.” They need a caring, wise shepherd. As this psalm reveals, we are so much like them, in need of a Good Shepherd.

Even the first five words of this psalm are like taking the hand of our loving, caring God.  Someone once suggested meditating on each word by itself.
“The”—the only one, the holy one, the unique one.  Not plural. Singular.
“LORD”—the small-capital-letter name in English Bibles for “Yahweh,” the holy covenant name of God given in Moses’ times: “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14).
“Is”—not “was,” as in a former deiety, but “is” for now and forever. In a gift book titled Safe in the Shepherd’s Arms, Max Lucado said that David wrote this psalm to remind us of who God is: the Yahweh who is unchanging, uncaused, and ungoverned (Nelson, p. 13).
“My”—yes, others’ shepherd, but also personally, intimately mine. I am not too insignificant for Him.
“Shepherd”—not an impersonal deity who demands worship and who is as capricious as the winds, but a caring, nurturing, sacrificing God who tends to every detail of my life.

SHEPHERD VIEWPOINTS

Seasoned Bible teachers, in trying to outline Psalm 23, only prove that it cannot be studied enough. Warren Wiersbe, well-known for his “Be-“ study series, included this psalm in “Be Worshipful” and divided it like this:
            *In the pasture—Adequacy (vs. 1-3)
            *In the valley—Serenity (v. 4)
            *In the fold—Certainty (v. 5)
            *In the Father’s house—Eternity (v. 6)

Derek Kidner, a commentary-writer who ferrets out meanings of original languages, gave this outline:

            *The Shepherd (1-4)
            *The Friend (5-6)

William MacDonald, who compiled a layman-friendly Believer’s Bible Commentary, said that this outline by J.R. Littleproud (from the 1930s) was hard to improve on:

            *The secret of a happy life—every need supplied.
            *The secret of a happy death—every fear removed.
            *The secret of a happy eternity---every desire fulfilled.

James Montgomery Boice, who preached on psalms for nearly three years from the pulpit of a huge Philadelphia church, outlined off the statement: “Because the Lord is my Shepherd”:

            *I shall not be in want.
            *I shall not lack rest.
            *I shall not lack life.
            *I shall not lack guidance
            *I shall not lack safety.
            *I shall not lack provision.
            *I shall not lack a heavenly home.

 A SHEEP’S SURVIVAL VIEWPOINT

The sheep needs its shepherd for everything. It needs led to good pasture, free of poisonous plants. Once there, the sheep needs to be free of fear. The flock cannot be agitated by bully sheep. Those afflicted by insects or skin diseases (for which ancient shepherds carried a salve of olive oil, sulfur and spices) must be doctored.  Yes, their heads anointed with oil (v. 5). The water must be clean and calm. A sheep needs enough food to feel full.

The sheep need a protector. Some, in their stupidity, would lie down in a hollow and lose their balance, unable to right themselves. These “cast” sheep were at risk of death within hours as gases built up in the body. A shepherd had to “right” the heavy sheep for it to survive. The shepherd also protected from wild animals. Remember how David boasted to Goliath that God had delivered him from the paws of the lion and bear (1 Samuel 17:37)? He had no gun, just his rod, slingshot, and physical power. When sheep were herded into a rock-fenced sheepfold at night, the shepherd slept across the entrance.

The shepherd was intensely loyal to his own sheep, even knowing the name of each. A hireling shepherd had no such attachment and would run away if danger came (John 10:11-13). In calling Himself “The Good Shepherd,” Jesus committed to the responsibility of total, loving care for His own followers.

THE SHEEP’S REVIVING VIEWPOINT

As humans created in the image of God, we have something sheep don’t—an anticipation of something beyond the grave. How many, on their deathbeds, have found unequivocal comfort in these concluding words?
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6)
That statement has a “present” and a “future.”  “Surely” means “without doubt,” “absolutely.” Some say “goodness” and “mercy” are like two sheepdogs that guard the back of the flock. As the Shepherd leads us through life, every circumstance is under His scrutiny. Health issues? Heartaches? Stressful days at the job or at home with children? Worries? Sorrows? God is with us all the days of our lives. He may come in the quiet joy of nature’s gifts. A kind word or deed. A recalling of past mercies. Beautiful music. That private, overwhelming realization that He will never leave me or forsake me, no matter how bad things seem right now.

He is trustworthy.  He will see us through to His house.  Forever.