I’ve heard sheep are a lot like people.  They come in all shapes and sizes, with as many different temperaments as one can count.  Some sheep are calm and cautious.  Yea, I know someone like that.  He’s about four feet tall and he sleeps upstairs.  Some sheep are spirited and stubborn.  Yep.  Know someone like that too.  She calls me Mom.  Sheep can be obedient, loyal, affectionate, slow, friendly, gentle, sensitive, rowdy, rough, foolish, fierce – the list goes on and on, and I bet you can name a different human you know who fits every personality trait on it.   

There is a parable in the Bible about sheep – sheep are actually mentioned a LOT in the Bible, in case ewe (wink, wink) didn’t know – and this particular parable tells of a shepherd who will leave ninety-nine of his sheep to go out and find the one who has wandered off.  The shepherd doesn’t value any of his sheep more than the others.  They are all totally worth his time and effort.

I don’t always think like that shepherd.

Sometimes, I dismiss people because they don’t look or act in ways that make the most sense to me.  Variety is supposed to be the spice of life and I’m certainly in no position to judge another human being.  Only God gets to do that, and the last time I checked, I wasn’t ruling the universe.  Still, I often put myself in the role of judge anyway.

1 Samuel 16:7   The Lord said to Samuel . . . “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

I’ve been trying to view this Biblical concept of acceptance by thinking about babies.  All babies are lovable.  It doesn’t matter where they came from, who they look like, what they’re wearing.  Babies are captivating - you can hardly take your eyes off them.  Everything about a baby is sweet and precious and endearing.  The expressions he makes, his movements and sounds, his every action. When you're with a baby, all you want to do is admire him.  All you want to do is show him love. 

I think God looks at all humans in the same way we look at babies.  He thinks we are all delightfully mesmerizing because he can find the flawless innocence inside each of us.  Remember, He created us in his image.  God is perfection, and we are part of God. 

If I can view people the way God does, I can accept them the way they are.  Everyone I meet will touch my heart because I won’t simply notice the things I see on the outside - their appearance, their choices, their conversations.  I will see their inner beauty.  I will see everything that makes them special and attractive and worthy of adoration.  I will see glimpses of God. 

After all, if I am going to love the Shepherd . . . I must also love the sheep.