Making a Whistle

Scottish audio version here.

John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. (NIV)

My father-in-law, Bill Smith, was a remarkably talented man. He was a hydraulic engineer, so he could fix basically anything that was mechanical. He grew up in the countryside and worked on various farms as a young man. I guess he learned how to repair things when he worked with farming machinery.

Years later, I remember one occasion when he took an empty can and cut it apart with metal shears. I wondered what he was doing as he flattened out the piece of metal and folded it over several times. He then put it to his lips and blew. He had made a whistle! I don’t know how he did it, but I was really impressed. I think he learned this craft when he worked for a short time as a shepherd.

Scottish shepherds use whistles to guide their collie dogs as they herd the sheep over the hills. A talented shepherd can herd sheep half a mile away by blowing different signals to his dog. It’s a remarkable feat and requires a lot of concentration by the shepherd and his dog, as well as the willing cooperation of the sheep!

From the scriptures, we know that Christ is our Good Shepherd and that He calls us to His flock. Today’s Bible verse has been used by some people to falsely suggest that other religions are acceptable to Him. They state that the “other sheep” are adherents of other faiths. But those who interpret scripture in this fashion conveniently forget the next part: that they will listen to Christ’s voice and then become part of the one flock.

In other words, to be accepted by Christ, they have to listen to Him and follow Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You call all people to listen to Your voice and become Your followers. You want everyone to be a part of the One, True Flock. Help us to help You with this calling. Grant us the courage to ask others to come to church, to come and be a part of Your Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Emerald Fields

Deuteronomy 11:11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.

On each of the three Scottish coach tours that I have led, there came a time when someone said, “Everything is so green!” Scotland is covered with so many emerald hills and green fields that when you see them for the first time, it’s like being given eye candy. The richness of the colors is so beautiful that for many American tourists, it remains amongst the most vivid of their memories.

But why is everything so green? What causes the fields to brightly glisten like emerald patches across the landscape?

Rain. Lots and lots of rain. For most of the year Scotland drinks rain from the heavens; this in turn enriches the soil and allows grass to grow everywhere. Over here, we are so used to sprinkling our lawns in the height of summer to keep it growing. Over in Scotland, the rain constantly falls and so the land is blessed with an abundance of grassy meadows, fields, and hills. And that’s also why there are so many cattle and sheep in Scotland – there’s plenty of green grass to support the livestock.

To the ancient Israelites, God’s promises of a land overflowing with milk and honey, along with an abundance of rain, must have sounded like Paradise. They had spent 400 years working in the irrigated fields of the Nile, making bricks and growing feeble crops. God was not only taking them out of slavery, He was sending them to a fertile valley where they wouldn’t have to toil as hard to survive. Not only would He supply their needs, God was also willing to give them abundance beyond their wildest dreams. And that’s why it was called the Promised Land.

In our own lives, we go through some dry and empty times, when we can become discouraged and even depressed. That’s when we need to ‘stand on the promises of God,’ as the old hymn states. God never forsakes or abandons us to misery. He never lets go of us in the midst of despair. And He is able and willing to get us through desperate moments, in order to lead us to those promised times of abundance and everlasting love.

Prayer: Lord God, You act in mighty ways, leading nations from slavery and oppression into the light of abundance and prosperity. You also care deeply for Your people and Your promises are always fulfilled. Lord God, we look to You as the source of all our blessings and the sustainer of our lives. Bless us with Your abundant love and bring us to Your amazing place. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.