The Shephard
We’ve all heard the expression; ‘the wolf in sheep’s clothing’. It is the title of one of the Fables of Aesop. “A Wolf found a Sheep’s pelt and wore it to blend in with the flock. Worked for a while until the Shepherd noticed. No more Wolf!”
‘A wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. One day he found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed, put it on over its own pelt, and strolled down among the sheep. For a time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals, but the shepherd happened upon him resting and killed him.’ Samuel Croxall
Be wise
Might this be the story of families and the church in America today? Dads, you are the shepherd of your flock. The wolves are deceptively lurking and seeking every opportunity to devour your children and family. They are not what they appear. But they are cunning. You need to be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves. And they are moving into the church to divide and neutralize the impact of the Body of Christ. But as Solomon wrote—“there is nothing new under the sun”.
The Spirit’s letter to Jude is so revealing. “For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 1.4) This started noticeably in the 1960’s and 70’s. It has continued to grow, even to the point of impacting schools with their godless curriculum, our politics and governing bodies.
Confront the enemy
The intent of the primary enemy of the Church, Satan, is to weaken and divide. It is being successful. This happens when good people do nothing. We make excuses, believe it’s not really that bad, it’s not impacting me directly, it won’t last forever, we want to be politically correct. All these excuses for not confronting the enemy that is right in our families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, media and our institutions of every nature.
The Spirit’s call to persevere is stated later in Jude. ‘But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Chrspirist foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires”. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.’ (Jude 1.17-19) We see mainline denominations splitting today. Our family went through one 30 years ago in the Presbyterian Church. And it is ongoing.
Friends, dads, we are in the end times and it is critical that you and I shepherd our flock well. The thief comes to rob, kill and steal. Jesus came as a Good Shepherd to bring life abundantly. The Spirit’s solution going forward is this. “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh”. (Jude 1.20-23)
The spiritual wolf is real, dangerous and hungry to devour. Good news! But God…“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” I Jn. 1.4.4
