Our Bible study class has been talking of how God compares us to sheep. Inept creatures, they will follow anything—a piece of paper blowing in the wind or even a predatory wolf. Being a shepherd must be a challenge!

One of my favorite authors, Penelope Wilcock (The Hawk and the Dove, Crossway) describes a fly that finds a break in a sheep’s skin and lays its eggs in the wound, where they hatch underneath the wooly fleece. Undetected, these evil worms feed upon the flesh of their victim. Unless cleansed and treated, the poor sheep will eventually go mad from the unrelenting agony and die.

She equates this blowfly infestation to the soul-wounds inflicted on many of us as children and the memories of our own failures and of those who fail us. These breed and fester to torture us during the long, dark nights when we cannot sleep. The fly, of course, is Satan, and the seeds of anger, self-hatred, and bitterness burrow into our subconscious and destroy our peace years after we have become adults.

But we have a Good Shepherd, who bids us come and bring our tormented souls to Him. He values each of us so much, He shed His own blood to save us.  Although the damage may be deep and has sometimes caused us to behave irrationally, Jesus’s mighty power can cleanse and heal. As we accept His incredible love, we are made whole and at peace.