What Sort of Christian?

It's funny the things we can take for granted.  We can tend to group people together and imagine they are similar--when they are completely different.  I remember when it hit home I wrongly had the assumption all medical doctors must be averse to practices that are known to be unhealthy, and it was eye-opening to realise doctors are still regular people who do what they want.  Anyone who has hired a contractor knows all licensed plumbers, electritians, concreters and tilers are not the same.  Years back I hired a plumbing outfit to install a drain for a coffee machine, and after trips to the supplier and many hours of labour the drain was not properly installed or functioning.  Later that night another plumber from the same company came, installed the drain--and removed and installed a water heater--in a fraction of the time.

This illustration can be extended to include nearly everything:  dogs of the same breed, trees of the same kind, and fruit of a single variety can have a great range of diversity among them.  Not every Pink Lady or Red Delicious apple has the same sweetness, weight, texture and firmness.  Some grapes in a single bunch can be squishy while others remain crisp.  I remember a friend had a dog he was particularly fond of because of many good qualities, and he attributed those qualities to the breed of dog.  He purchased another dog of the same breed and was disappointed when the new dog had none of those desireable qualities.  The disposition of the new dog was so different a case could be made it had more in common with some other kind of animal entirely.

In the Law of Moses, we read it was the responsibility of the owners of livestock to be aware of the tendencies each animal and do all that was necessary to protect others from harm.  Exodus 21:35-36 reads, "If one man's ox hurts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. ³⁶ Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own."  When the owner of an ox realised it tended to have an aggressive and dangerous temperment (which he would have plainly observed from a young age), he had to make a decision:  would he keep the ox, sell it, or eat it?  If he chose to keep the ox, he was required to build a suitable paddock to confine the ox so it would not be a threat to other oxen, his family or other people.  Should the owner of an aggressive animal be negligent to do this, there was a high price to pay--which could include his own life if the nasty ox killed a person (Ex. 21:29).

Not all oxen are the same, and this goes for sheep as well.  The sheep in a flock may look very similiar in appearance or behaviour to the untrained eye, yet the shepherd knows his sheep well.  He observes their tendencies and takes action to correct bad behaviour.  In his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Philip Keller spoke about a particularly problem sheep he called "Miss Gad-about" because she was never content, always restless and bent on escape.  She would push through fences and teach her lambs to do the same.  He wrote, "After putting up with her perverseness for a summer I finally came to the conclusion that to save the rest of the flock from becoming unsettled, she would have to go...It was a difficult decision to make, for I loved her in the same way I loved the rest.  Her strength and beauty and alertness were a delight to the eye.  But one morning I took the killing knife in hand and butchered her.  Her career of fence crawling was cut short.  It was the only solution to the problem." (Keller, Phillip. Psalm 23. Zondervan Pub. House, 1970. pages 33-34)

Even as oxen and ewes have different dispositions, the same is true for born again Christians.  It is good for us to prayerfully consider what sort of Christian we are:  do we yield and submit to others in love, or do we tend to push back with pride?  Are we content to remain in the pasture by the side of our Good Shepherd Jesus or do we tend to push past boundaries--and lead others to do the same?  By the power of the Holy Spirit God is able to make us new creations by faith in Him, and He is able to transform our outlook and disposition in ways the owner of an agressive ox and wayward sheep cannot.  God forbid our aggressive, obstinate or wayward tendencies can only be rememdied by Him taking up the killing knife as He did with Hophni and Phinehas (1 Sam. 2:25).  The premature death of Moses was averted by obedience to God's covenant (Ex. 4:24-26), and may there be in us a heart to meekly yield ourselves to our LORD in repentance and change our ways.