The story is told of an American tourist who was traveling in the Mid East. He came upon several shepherds whose flocks had intermingled while drinking water from a brook. After an exchange of greetings, one of the shepherds turned toward the sheep and called out, “Manah. Manah. Manah.” (Manah means “follow me” in Arabic). Immediately his sheep separated themselves from the rest and followed him.

Then one of the two remaining shepherds called out, “Manah. Manah.” And his sheep left the common flock to follow him. The traveler then said to the third shepherd, “I would like to try that. Let me put on your cloak and turban and see if I can get the rest of the sheep to follow me.”

The shepherd smiled knowingly as the traveler wrapped himself in the cloak, put the turban on his head and called out, “Manah. Manah.” The sheep did not respond to the stranger’s voice. Not one of them moved toward him. “Will the sheep ever follow someone other than you?” The traveler asked.

“Oh yes,” the shepherd replied, “sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone.”

We live in a world where a lot of different “voices” are calling us to follow. Materialism cries out for us to follow. Power and prestige call out. Sensual pleasure makes its plea. It’s easy to be pulled in a lot of different directions. That is, unless we have Jesus Christ as our shepherd. A sheep in His flock will ignore all other voices and listen for the voice of its Master.

“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-5)

Whose voice are you listening to?

Alan Smith alansmith.servant@gmail.com