I don’t know much about sheep or shepherds, but I have observed some in while traveling in Israel, Jordan and New Zealand and I have read about them. While driving in the Jordanian desert I saw several shepherds standing together while their separate flocks either mingled or were scattered in the desert. How do they ever collect their sheep from the other flocks mixed with theirs?

Sheep have limited eyesight. It’s also my understanding that sheep are of average or less intelligence.  This is where shepherds enter the picture. Unlike cattle that do not require constant oversight, sheep do.  They develop a dependence on their shepherd to the point that they learn their shepherd’s voice and his/her distinctive calls to them. I saw that in New Zealand on a sheep ranch.  A single shepherd with two dogs managed a huge flock of maybe a thousand sheep. He was driving them from one pasture to another. He would call instructions for them to veer right or left and they would obey. The sheep heard his voice. I was mesmerized by the power of the shepherd’s voice to guide over a thousand sheep.

Unlike sheep, we do not automatically hear and depend on one voice to guide us.  We hear many voices. And yes, so many voices can make us crazy at times. Society is full of them and in our isolation we hear them all. And they impact us. They converge into a roar that disorients, upsets and misdirects us.  

This devotional is a call to refocus on hearing just one voice, the only voice that really matters. It is the voice of Jesus.  Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Block out the strident, self-aggrandizing, hate filled ungodly voices of the world and pull out your Bible and begin reading the words of Jesus every day. Listen to him all over again. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for us as his sheep. His is the one voice that we must listen to for it is the voice that calls us home.

Scripture: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him” Mt. 17:5

Dr. McMillon graduated from OC in 1963. He is the president and CEO of the Christian Chronicle. Dr. McMillon is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist in the State of Oklahoma. He has done post-doctoral work at the Menninger Clinic and Oxford University. He has conducted marriage enrichment seminars for churches for many years. Dr. McMillon has also spoken on numerous lectureships and in many churches both across the nation and in many foreign countries. Special areas of study include Restoration History backgrounds, New Testament, marriage and family and counseling. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, is the author of numerous articles and four books. He and his wife Joy have two sons: Jeff and Greg, six granddaughters and one grandson. Dr. McMillon is an elder at the Memorial Road Church of Christ.