While traveling a few weeks ago, I saw this image and just had to take a snapshot. There were profound messages in that scene. The black sheep looked so far removed from the herd, alone, isolated, and feeling the weighty stares of his herd-mates. I couldn’t help but ponder it.
Do you ever feel like the “black sheep” of your family, friend group, or colleagues? Do you isolate yourself from family, friends, and maybe all of society because you feel like you don’t fit in? Perhaps you have been dealing with a sin issue or a destructive habit. Maybe you just look at and operate in the world a little differently from others, and you feel misunderstood.
You feel the weighty stares of others, deepening your sense of isolation. People’s judgmental glances and actions (both real and perceived) widen the chasm and deepen the isolation even more. Been there? There right now? Struggling to know where to turn?
Perhaps you identify more closely with the other sheep in this photo. You are lying down in the green pastures that your Good Shepherd has provided, forgetting to offer others the same amazing grace Jesus gave you. Jesus has a message for both:
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.”–Luke 15:4-5 NLT
The truth is, Jesus wants to shepherd all of us, to lead us by still waters, to make us lie down in green pastures, to restore our souls. He even wants to lead us through the valleys without fear, comforted by the fact that He is with us. For those of us who are living among the “99”, let’s remember the grace that got us there and share it with those who are lost. For those who are wandering and searching, take a listen to Ben Fuller’s song, Black Sheep, and let the words wash over you. As the lyric says, ” . . . the good news is He’ll never leave you be. Jesus loves you, black sheep.” He really does, friends. Will you believe Him?
— Linda R. Maynard for The Sublime Soiree (C) July 2025