The heat of summer beat down on the high mountain meadow where the sheep grazed beneath the sharp eye of their Shepherd. Each night, he herded them into the corner of the meadow where a low, stone fence had been constructed.
But with the heat also came the flies and other biting bugs. The sheep pawed at their faces as the flies flew into their eyes and wiggled into their noses. The flies were annoying and took their attention away from eating the good grass and following their Shepherd to water. Instead, the sheep scraped their skin on the rocks and scratchy bushes to itch the flies away.
The Shepherd walked among the sheep carrying a ram’s horn filled with oil. Whenever he saw a sheep annoyed with flies, he would pour the oil over its head and spread it around their eyes and noses. The oil protected the sheep from the annoying flies.
The heat also made the sheep angry towards each other. They would ram their heads together so hard that they would hurt each other.
The Shepherd walked among the sheep once again with his ram’s horn filled with oil. He poured it on the angry sheeps’ heads. Now when they rammed their heads into each other, they slipped off before they could hurt each other. The oil protected the sheep from harming each other.
Looking over each sheep, the Shepherd spread the oil over each of their scratches and wounds so they would heal. The oil protected the sheep from infection.
The sheep wondered at the Shepherd’s horn of oil. All that summer he poured out his oil, but his horn never seemed to run out. It flowed over them whenever they needed it.
Questions to think about:
- Read Psalm 23:5, 92:10, 133:1–2, Isaiah 44:3, and Acts 2:17–18 by yourself or with your parents. How is the Shepherd’s oil like Christ’s Spirit?
- The flies, the heat, the scratches, and the anger of the other sheep were all annoyances and troubles that distracted the sheep from the important things. How do the annoyances of our lives distract us? How does Christ’s Spirit protect us?