SIN IS SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS
John 10:11-18
Today, I offer you two Latin words – Pecus and Pecatum. Pecus means sheep and pecatum means sin. There is something common to sheep and sin: short-sightedness.
The shepherd has to call the sheep by name because the sheep have very poor eyesight. It can happen that a sheep while walking will suddenly fall into a hole because it cannot see beyond its nose. The sheep rely only on the shepherd’s voice for direction.
Sin, on the other hand, is the effect of shortsightedness. We are shortsighted when we look at the pleasure we can get from temptation. When we look at the money and popularity we can get if we cheat and take advantage of other people.
We do not look at the total picture. We look out for our gratification now. We choose to forget about everything else. And this is how to commit a sin. We just forget about eternal life. We forget that God sees us. We succumb to our shortsightedness. And like the sheep, we can suddenly fall into a hole and not know what hit us.
The second common thing between pecus and pecatum is that both their shortsightedness can be cured by listening to a voice. The shepherd’s voice is a cure for the sheep’s short-sightedness. By listening to the shepherd’s voice the sheep need not go astray or plunge into a ravine. The short-sightedness of man, which can lead him to sin, can also be prevented by his listening to the Lord voice.
Today, we ask the Lord to make us the kind of sheep who truly listen. Perhaps we were born with short-sightedness: Perhaps we were born, thinking only of the pleasures of the moment. Perhaps we were born with myopia, we are narrow-minded, we are short-sighted. But even if we are short-sighted, we are not desperate. We can still hope if we listen to the shepherd’s voice.
The sheep is short-sighted. Committing sin is being short. sighted. The sheep is protected from danger when it listens to the shepherd’s voice. Sin will be prevented from ruining us if we listen to the voice of God and if we allow his every word to ring loud and clear in our hearts. Let us listen to the voice of God.
SIN IS SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS
John 10:11-18
Only Jesus, Always Jesus