I rummaged through our food and starting pulling green beans and pineapple to throw in the bag because these two canned items my children refuse to eat.
As I took the bag outside hundreds of little African children with bare torsos and feet started swarming me asking if they could eat some of the food. I went back inside to get a can opener. I opened the cans and the children ate the food out of them using their fingers and telling me "Thank-you! Green beans and pineapple are my favorite!"
I told them to come to our church because I had a sermon I was going to preach. "The church" was a shabby looking building at the end of our dirt road but it had beautifully padded seats for everyone to sit on. When the children were sitting quietly, I got up on the stage and began my sermon from John 10.
10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
As I tried to read this passage, I kept getting tongue-tied over and over and giggling about it. All the children would laugh with me as if I was telling funny jokes the whole time.
Good preacher that I was, I had planned an illustration and on cue a little boy brought a lamb on stage. The little lamb was supposed to follow the boy back and forth behind me, but when the children saw the lamb they flooded the stage and the little distracted lamb didn't follow the boy around at all. He bounded from child to child much like a puppy would in that situation. The children laughed in delight.
(That's me with Lamby. I told you before that my totally awesome mom let us get a wide variety of pets and this was one of them.)
Frustrated and trying to bring my sermon to a close, I yelled above the noise, "We are like this little lamb!"
Oblivious to the lesson I had just tried to teach, the children whooped when they realized I was done talking and began clamoring all around me, "Do you have more green beans and pineapple?"
I went back to my pantry and pulled out all the food that they would be able to eat without any prep. There was alot.
I brought it outside and watched them eat until they were full and they settled in around me, laughing and playing with each other. My heart was filled with joy seeing hundreds of children's bellies satisfied.
When I woke up, I wanted to slip back into my dream. I wanted to keep experiencing the joy I had in fulfilling the real needs of these children. I can't seem to shake it either.
I keep going back to the passage of scripture in my dream because I keep wondering who I am in that passage. Am I a thief? Am I a wolf? Am I a gatekeeper? Am I the hired hand? Am I a stranger? Am I a sheep? Am I a sheep in the other pen?
Sometimes it feels like it is hard in this country to meet real needs of people. But when I am truly aware, I see need all around me.
The young mom who just had a baby but also has two toddlers that want to play outside.
The young mom who is painting her new home and needs a third hand to hold her fussy one.
The little girls next door, that want to talk about their day at school but their mom is still working.
The little boy down the street who buries his face between his knees after his best friend told him he was not going to play with him ever again.
The girl up the road that screams "You're stupid!" to my daughter and her friends as they walk past.
The teacher that could use some encouragement after a hard day in the classroom.
Our elderly neighbor, whose small plot of grass could use a quick mow.
You see, I don't think we need to be extraordinary to be part of the kingdom of God. We don't have to be able to preach wonderful sermons. Or sing like an angel. We don't even need to bag up our rejected can goods to give to the hungry. It's all around us.
Often, all it would take to meet a need is a sacrifice of a few minutes of our time. But we hold onto our time and schedules as though tomorrow won't happen if we aren't able to cross off everything on our to-do list. I'm not pointing fingers. I failed miserably at this very concept yesterday right after I dreamed this dream.
(This picture makes me laugh. That's me that just got pounded in the face while my brother and sister stand by and laugh. But it kinda reminds me of myself right now. Getting pounded in the face by my dream. And you're probably standing by laughing.)
I am one of the sheep. I know who my shepherd is. But I often play a secondary role in this story. Sometimes I control the gate. At times I open it eagerly for the shepherd to be with his sheep. But other times, I slam the gate shut and yell, "Stay put, I'm too busy to deal with you now. Somebody else can open the gate when the shepherd gets here!" not realizing the shepherd is standing right behind me.
Here is a link to Eli's most recent sermon, which may be what inspired this dream.
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