Meet Shrek the sheep; he became famous a little while back for
hiding out in caves by himself for six years. Because of his isolation, his
fleece was never shorn. It grew and grew; by the time he was finally shaved,
the amount of fleece that fell away from his body weighed sixty pounds. Most
sheep have a fleece weighing under ten pounds; sometimes it's more, but never
by much.
For years, Shrek carried excess weight that he was neither
created nor required to carry... all because he was away from his shepherd.
Psalm 23 tells us that the Lord is our shepherd. And in John
10:14, Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd and His followers are His
sheep. If you think about it, Shrek the sheep is much like a person who knows
Jesus Christ but has wandered. Too often, we hide in the “caves” of this world
like work, hobbies, relationships, even church activities and ministry. 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.
Christ can easily lift the burdens we bear, if only we
stop hiding. He can shave off our "fleece," that is, our self-imposed
burdens brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.
Matthew 11:28-30 - 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
