When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:36, AMP

In July 2005, the following story hit news outlets around the world:

450 sheep leapt to their deaths in the Turkish village of Gevas. The chain reaction started when one sheep went over the cliff, enticing nearly fifteen hundred others to follow. According to the Aksam newspaper, by the time the 450 had died, the pile of sheep carcasses at the bottom of the cliff had apparently grown large enough to cushion the fall somewhat, resulting in the saving of the other 1550.*

Upon reading a story like the one above, it’s natural to jump to the conclusion that sheep are just blithering idiots. But according to Wikipedia, a University of Illinois monograph on sheep reported them to be just below pigs and on par with cattle in IQ.** Sheep, therefore, aren’t as dumb as they may appear. But, when they take their eyes off of their shepherds and, like in the story above, follow one of their own, their lack of understanding can lead them to the place of the dead.

In August 2013 Ray Comfort of LivingWaters.com released a stunning video entitled Evolution vs. God. In the video, Comfort expertedly utilitized the Socratic method of questioning to challenge college science students and university science professors on their belief in the theory of evolution. The 38-minute video is a must-watch, and you can view the YouTube version of the video by clicking here. In short, Comfort clearly demonstrates to these proponents of evolution that they are resting their understanding on blind faith, not science. He also shows them clearly that should they continue to follow the man-sheep named Darwin, they will fall to their eternal deaths, just like the sheep in Gevas followed one of their own to theirs.

Throughout the Bible, God likens human beings to sheep. To the natural mind such an association is insulting. But to the regenerated mind the association is tremendously accurate. We display a level of intelligence, but we certainly don’t know as much as our Shepherd. Due to our natural tendencies to follow bad examples, to wander in our own lusts, and to succumb easily to fear and panic, we, like sheep, often go astray. Our challenge as Christians is to never take our eyes off of the Shepherd, lest we wander. Our duty to our Shepherd is to call out to those sheep who are wandering, to warn them of the folly of following one of their own, and to point them to the Shepherd Who will never lead them astray.

*SOURCES: WIKINEWS, USATODAY

**SOURCE: Wikipedia.org

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