Finding and Flourishing in Your Place in the ChurchSample

COMPONENTS OF THE SHEEPFOLD (3): THE GOATS

Within the sheepfold, there are also the goats that the shepherd must separate from the sheep. I will be highlighting some characteristics of goats in today’s devotional.

1. Goats don’t stay in the church: Goats are rootless, unsteady kind of people. They never commit to any place to settle down to build ties and grow. They are the kind of people that know what obtains in every church in their town because they have sampled all and are still sampling others.

2. Goats are more suspicious, but sheep are trusting: Goats are not only unable to trust others, but they also cannot trust themselves to live a life that is expected of a true sheep. Thus, they wander around, sniffing everyone they come in contact with in suspicion.

3. Goats disobey instructions: Goats are always doing their own will. If you need to catch four sheep, all you need do is to look for the leader-sheep among them and catch him, and the rest will follow. The dangerous thing is that when a sheep and a goat run across a road and a car hits them, the goat will always turn and run while the sheep will die. This is the danger of a sheep that fellowships with goats; it is going to die cheaply.

4. Goats don’t follow leader-sheep: A goat will not follow the shepherd (the leader) but will follow a goat like itself. The goats are not harmful to the sheep but are a danger to the pasture because they can scatter the ground and muddle up the waters for the sheep. This is why they also need shepherding, but they do not realize it.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, deliver me from any goat tendency I am currently holding on to in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen!