In 2004 Shrek the sheep
gained worldwide fame. According to his New Zealand owner, John Perrium, Shrek
escaped his enclosure and evaded him for six years by hiding in caves. Merino
sheep, the kind Shrek was, are usually shorn annually, so when he was finally
caught, the sheep was unrecognizable due to his massively large coat of wool.
Shrek had to be carried
down the mountain because his fleece was so heavy that he couldn’t walk down on
his own. To relieve Shrek of the weight of his waywardness, he was turned
upside down so that he would remain still and not be harmed when the shearer
removed his heavy fleece.
When Shrek was shaved, his
fleece weighed an amazing sixty pounds; enough wool to make suits for 20 men! By
comparison, most sheep have a fleece weighing just under ten pounds. Moreover,
it only took the sheep shearer twenty-eight minutes to remove Shrek’s coat.[1]
In John 10 Jesus compared Himself
to a shepherd and His followers the sheep, “14 I am the good shepherd. I
know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” By the way, when the Bible
compares us to sheep, it’s not exactly a compliment. Sheep are stubborn, smelly,
and stupid. Just like Shrek, we are prone to go AWOL. “All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way,” so says Isaiah
53:6. While we are out on our own, our sins separate us from God (Is. 59:2) and we become weighted down with burdens (Ez.
33:10).
For years, Shrek carried
six times the regular weight of his fleece. Simply because he was away from his
shepherd. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going
to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear (Matt.
11:28-30).
I meet many people who are
far from God for whatever reason. Some have walked away from the church and the
Savior following after the temptations of the world. Some are hiding in sin and
shame and don’t want to be found. Either way, the result is the same. Even if
they wanted to, they can’t get down the mountain. But praise God—we have a
seeking Shepherd! “4 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost
one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after
the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it
on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his
friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found
my sheep that was lost.’” (Luke 15:4-6). How dark was the cave when the
Good Shepherd found you? Maybe you are still holed-up. Here’s the good news: in
the miracle of a moment Christ can find you, clean you up and bring you into
the fold. It’s the bleating of the sheep that draws the attention of the Shepherd
so, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
-DM
[1]
Julie Ackerman Link, “Meet Shrek,” Our Daily Bread, 19 June 2014 <https://odb.org/2014/06/19/meet-shrek/>
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