How to Eat Like a Sheep

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth

not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

II Timothy 2:15

 

Biblical literacy in America is at an all time high. Less than half of all adults can name the four gospels and over 50% of graduating high school seniors thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife.  What is even more shocking is that biblical illiteracy is a huge problem within the church. In a recent study, 42% of self-identified Christians said that they had never heard of spiritual gifts.  Only 44% of born-again teenagers could locate the Sermon on the Mount when given four choices.  A whopping 81% of Christians polled believe that the statement, "God helps those who help themselves," is from the Bible.

 

While it would be easy to lay the blame on shallow Bible study materials or inefffective sermons, ultimately the responsibility of learning the Scriptures falls upon our own shoulders.  The Good Shepherd has already provided us with all the good food that we need; we just need to learn how to eat like a sheep.  Unfortunately, most believers spend an average of 7 minutes a day in the Bible.  While this might be enough time for a spiritual snack, it will inevitably lead to spiritual malnutrition.

 

As I mentioned in last week's blog, cattle graze on the grass, eating only the blades; while sheep eat the grass, roots and all.  Only by ingesting the roots can sheep get the minerals and moisture needed for good health.  Since the Bible compares us to sheep and not to cattle, it is important that we "feed" on the Bible all the way down to the roots.

 

While Bible grazing consists of skimming through a chapter or two of Scripture in fifteen minutes, to get to the roots of a passage you must go more slowly.  Plan on ingesting just one verse a day.  For example, let's say that you are going through Ephesians 4. Look at verse 15:

 

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him

 in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

 

We begin with the word, "but," which should remind us of what we uncovered previously in our study of verse 14 and how it will relate to this verse. Then we look at the word "speaking."  Notice that it is not a passive verb, but an active one.  What is it that we are speaking? We are speaking the truth.  Whose truth should we be speaking? There is only one, infallible, unchanging truth; the Word of God. However, there is an additional caveat to that command.  We are to speak the truth in love.

 

Let's stop a second to review.  God is commanding us to speak His truth with love.  He does not place a restriction on to whom we are to speak this truth, therefore we can assume that we are to share the truth with both believers and the lost.  Speaking the truth often means pointing out sin and exhorting righteousness; truths which may come across as harsh.  Therefore, we must be certain before we speak that we have the right motives and that we have the person's best interests at heart.

 

But why does God require us to speak the truth in love? That we "may grow up into Him in all things." This ties in with the previous verse, in which Paul exhorts us to no longer be like children.  Not only is our personal goal to grow in maturity so that we are like Christ, but we are also expected to come alongside our fellow believers and encourage them in their walk. The verse reminds us that our Christian model is Christ, "which is the head."  To model our lives after any other is folly.

 

As you can see, we have used no other commentary than the Holy Spirit, but in just fifteen minutes we have gone down to the roots of the verse to draw nourishment from it. Just look at each of the main words in the verse and let God speak to you through His Word.  If you are really daring, find out the Greek (or Hebrew) word and its meaning using a Strong's Concordance or a website like Blue Letter Bible (www.blueletterbible.com).

 

 As sheep, however, we have still not finished.  Remember that sheep are ruminant animals.  Though we have fed on this verse, we carry it with us throughout the day and, periodically, the Holy Spirit will bring it back up for us to ruminate (meditate) on again.  By this process, we are able to draw every grain of nourishment from the verse and use it to strengthen our faith.

 

Are you truly a sheep?  Then start eating like one.