Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Rodney's Adventure


Sometimes, being in the center of God's will doesn't turn out the way we expect. And prayers may get answered in surprising ways. Courtesy of the Wittenburg Door:

Rodney's Adventure

Rodney was a handsome bighorn sheep who spent his days wandering through the mountains of Moriah. He was well known to all the other sheep, and a good friend to the other animals who lived on the mountain. He allowed the sparrows to ride on his magnificent horns, and sang with the owls in the moonlight, and was always careful not to trample the rabbits under his mighty hooves.

One morning he decided to climb higher up the mountain than he had ever been before. He made his way slowly up the mountainside, putting one hoof carefully in front of the other as his father and grandfather had taught him.

But when he got to the top of the mountain, he lost his footing and tumbled into a bramble patch. The burrs grabbed and tugged at his wool, and no matter which way he turned, he could not find his way out.

"Oh, dear," thought Rodney. "I seem to be trapped in this thicket!"

Now it so happened that a man and his son were approaching, and Rodney bleated and called for their assistance as loud as he could.

"If only they hear me," thought Rodney, "they will set me free! Sir! Sir! Over here!"


But the man and his son paid no attention. They talked quietly for a while, and the man seemed very serious indeed about building something in the clearing on top of the mountain. Rodney cried and shouted until he was hoarse, but it was no use at all.

Then an Angel of the Lord appeared, and said: "Dearest Rodney! I have been watching you for a long while. I am so sorry you have been caught in this thicket. I shall set you free, so that you may fulfill God's plan for your future."

And with a wave of his hand, the Angel caused the thicket to vanish into thin air!

Rodney sprang forth, and shook himself, and his beautiful black eyes glistened in the sun with joy and relief.And then the man set upon him, and caught him up, and sacrificed him to the Lord.When all was said and done, it was a pretty poor excuse for an adventure.


4 comments:

  1. Thanks, Arnold, for sharing the story--it made my day!

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  2. What a sad story.

    Maybe its not a sad story, but it made me sad.

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  3. Actually, it fits well with Larry Crabb's book, "Shattered Dreams."

    Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be known for the rest of history as the sheep who took Isaac's place as a prefigure of the Christ who would later take OUR place. Not many sheep are more famous than this one! (And now we know his name.)

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  4. Kind of reminds me of some verses in Romans 12:1-2; "And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."

    So, Caroline Marie, I was glad to be reminded of these verses by Arnold's posting about Rodney, because I have been struggling with what God's will has been, is, and is going to be lately (I wrote about it somewhere else--Juxtapositons blog by Scott).

    BTW, I enjoyed visiting your blog, Caroline Marie! You refresh my spirit! Keep posting!

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