All We Like Sheep…

The sad reality captured in the words to that great hymn by Robert Robinson, written almost 300 years ago still ring true of us today:

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

The Word of God confirms Robinsons notions in Isaiah 53:

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

We all are very prone to go astray and turn to our own way. Sheep must be watched, they must be turned back to follow their shepherd. It is very important that we know the tendency for us to follow our own desires and forget the God that bought us. If we fail to remember our inclination to stray, we will stray from God. The further we stray from God the more dangerous the consequences can be.

A great example of this is the sweet psalmist of Israel, the very beloved king David. He let down his guard and forgot the law of God, and sinned a grievous sin. This was not the first time David had sinned, nor was it his last, but he strayed far from the side of his Shepherd. The consequences were great. He lost his child, the sword never departed from his house and his own son became one of his greatest enemies. We have a great prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 that David prayed during a time of sorrow and fasting, but David still faced many troubles because of his sin.

There is a popular idea out in the, let’s say, pseudo Christian world. An idea that says, “Your past does not define your future; That God forgives sins as if they never were committed; that all we must do is ask God and he will forgive us and not hold us accountable.” You may be thinking, “Whats wrong with that?”

While it is true that God forgives us of our sins, he can overcome our past, and Christ has taken the punishment for our sins and we will not go to hell for them: it is not true that we will not suffer any consequences on this earth. As a direct result of sin, our bodies will die. As a direct result of sin, problems our still in our life. As a direct result of sin, Christians rob themselves and others of the peace, joy, love, gentleness, kindness and goodness of the fruit of God’s mercy. Christian, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” Galatians 6:7 KJV. Do not think that you can escape the consequences of your actions. God will reward according to what we sow; that is why we must keep a close watch on our wandering hearts.

Proverbs 4:20-27 KJV

²⁰ My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

²² For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

²³ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

²⁴ Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

²⁵ Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

²⁶ Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

²⁷ Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

All we like sheep need to walk closer each day to the Shepherd of our soul.

S.T. 
I Thessalonians 5:24
"Faithful is he..."