The Tent: A safe place for shepherds to reflect together
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Bill H
Joined: 11 Jun 2008 Posts: 21
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:29 pm Post subject: Gran, Granda’ and Ole Tennessee Ernie Ford |
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As a small boy visiting my beloved grandparents, I was introduced to their selection of 78-rpm records. Big black rigid records that were carefully placed on a turntable inside an appliance-cum-sideboard. I remember that my Gran and Granda’ were both fond of Jim Reeves and particularly fond of Tennessee Ernie Ford. They played a variety of the latter’s gospel repertoire such as “Softly and Tenderly†and “Sweet Hour of Prayerâ€.
I can remember Tennessee Ernie’s rich voice filling the living room of my grandparents’ flat with this particular favourite:
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
in the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?â€
But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.â€
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry,
Sick and helpless and ready to die;
Sick and helpless and ready to die.
“Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way
That mark out the mountain’s track?â€
“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.â€
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?â€
“They are pierced tonight by many a thorn;
They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.â€
And all through the mountains, thunder riven
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of Heaven,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!â€
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!
Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!â€
The old song composed by Moody’s sidekick Sankey conveyed to my boyhood imagination the shepherd’s great concern for lost and wayward sheep.
Jesus told this parable:
“"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.’ (Matthew 18:12-14)
Years, later, it occurs to me that if I am going to gather the scattered sheep I cannot do so programmatically. The serious business of gathering the scattered must be done personally. It is a relational enterprise. Those who have wandered off the path must not only be restored gently but personally. In our high tech, gadget supported ministries, healing backsliders and recovering wayward sheep involves the investment of relational capital. _________________ Bill H |
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