It happened while we were playing Wolves and Sheep at Bible Club.
The “wolves” were tagging the “sheep,” freezing them in place. My oldest son was the “Good Shepherd” who was able to unfreeze the sheep by tagging them, and the wolves did not have the power to freeze him.
Bea, a spindly seven year old girl, was a sheep, and she was having a hard time outrunning the older, faster wolves. Panting, she ran behind the Good Shepherd and grabbed onto his legs, imploring, “Save me! Save me!”
He kept the wolves away from her, and soon, all of the other sheep were huddled right behind him too.
I hadn’t envisioned that scenario when I made up the game, but the beauty of it struck me and the other helpers with a new thankfulness for our Good Shepherd.
Those children knew where to go for refuge!
It wasn’t long after we were playing Wolves and Sheep that I saw a terrible fight. Men were using their vehicles and bats to hurt one another. I knew some of the children at those homes had been at Bible Club, hiding behind the Good Shepherd. As they cowered under a porch and inside the doorway during the fight, I prayed that they were spiritually hiding behind Jesus, the true Good Shepherd, who is able to save them from all sorts of harm.
When Jeremiah lamented, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?” perhaps he had witnessed similar hurts.
The children are learning where to go for balm and healing, but the adults are not. They are still looking to the drugs, the alcohol, the money, the power, the possessions, and the false relationships even though the true Balm has come! The Great Physician came to seek and to save the lost, but so many still run away from Him.
Watching those men whirl their vehicles like weapons and utilize their bats on one another gave me a clear picture of my own pride.
Why don’t I seek out the Balm? Why I don’t I ask for the Physician? Why do I have spiritual sickness?
I am too proud, and I let my selfishness rule. Those men saw themselves as better than others. So do I. They have an inflated view of their own importance. So do I. They were seeking independence and control. So do I. They turn anywhere but to the Good Shepherd. So often, I have too.
But then, He unfreezes me from the tag of the wolf, and I see the balm He has brought for my soul. I take refuge under His wings, and He holds out His arms to keep the wolves at bay. Like a little child, I cry out, “Save me! Save me!”
And He does.
It turns out that humility finds the Balm that has been here all along. All I had to do was ask.
You can find free Bible lessons for kids HERE.
Sarah Dixon Young 