God's Herd

I was privileged to attend an event the other night. The purpose for this event was to unite Christians by crossing interdenominational lines. Our one common factor was that we declared Christ as our Savior. All else was inconsequential. In one auditorium, pastors and church leaders from 35 different venues (churches, ministries and organizations) prayed prayers for our community, our nation and our world. It was amazing.

As I was wrapped up in the power of this event, I started thinking about running horses. As far as I'm concerned, there is no image more beautiful than a band of wild horses racing across the land with a cloud of dust trailing behind them. When I see that, I lose my breath and can't believe the awesome wonder of their movement. Their hooves stir up the dust and make a tremendous sound. A large enough herd can be viewed from miles away. You can't help but notice.

Individually, those horses are beautiful also. If we pen them up in a seperate corral, they can serve their purpose as a servant animal. We can contain them to ride, pull, and tote. They do what they should....but they are contained. You will notice that any horse that is put in a stall will long to be out with others of its kind. It will pace in its enclosure and test the strength of its boundaries.

When we release them with other horses, they might fight a little. There will be skirmishes as they find their rank within the new group. They might kick and bite a little, but the joy of their freedom cannot be kept secret for long. They run. They go. They join the others. They are social and want to buck and stretch and feel the wind in their manes. They want to celebrate life.

The most beautiful herds have a great variety of individuals. There are the stallions who are showy and grand. They are bold and courageous. They are the leaders and the protectors. You will have a certain amount of foals who lend a youthful exhuberance to the herd. They give it life. The mares keep the herd in line. They are the leaders BEHIND the leaders. They are the brain of the group. I'd like to think of myself as a fat old pony. Every herd has to have that one weird one that adds the comic relief!

The point of this illustration is that we need all kinds of churches and all kinds of Christians to make the picture the most beautiful it can be. Those of us who are truly filled with Christ can't wait to be released into the wild, kicking up our heels and frolicking with the sheer joy of being part of God's herd. We can effectively serve Christ if we are penned individually, but OH, the impact we can make if we all run together.