Smelling Like Sheep

I once had a friend who had several dogs. Every time she would come around, I could smell her dogs on her. Now, I didn’t have a dog at the time, so that smell kind of grossed me out. Now that I have a dog, I wonder if I smell like dogs. I wonder if my smell grosses others out.

Do you know what happens when you spend a lot of time out in the pasture? Of course you do - you start to smell. If you’re around cows a lot, you are going to smell like a cow. Is this a bad thing? Maybe if you don’t shower, but it also says something about you - that you care for cows.

Jesus tells us that He is the Good Shepherd. We are His sheep. Jesus would smell like sheep, as He spends time with His followers. A shepherd that does not smell like sheep is not a good shepherd. But, sheep are messy and can be pretty gross at times. Sheep are needy, too. They’re not always fun to be around.

As a pastor, I need to smell like sheep (this is a metaphor, of course). It is my calling to be out there with the sheep, making sure that they have everything that they need. It is not enough to feed them once a week, just like it is not enough to only see the sheep when they come around. As a shepherd of a flock, it is my role to ensure that my entire flock it cared for, even if some of them have wandered off.

It needs to also be noted that the shepherd cares for the flock, but the flock also gathers together. The flock does life together. The flock is…well, a flock. Our life was not intended to be done alone. We were created to be in community and we need to be part of that community. We need to be involved in one another’s lives and we need to know what is going on with each other. We need to pray for those in need and rejoice with those who are rejoicing. In short, we need to smell like sheep.