I can leave my subdivision, turn to the right and head toward McDonough. If I turn left, I will head toward Stockbridge. If I go straight, I will run into a ditch and a stretch of trees. But, I digress. As I drive down Hwy. 155 toward either city or points in between, I pass quite a number of pastures that have goats, horses, donkeys, or all three grazing happily on the grass and hay. There are several little ponies and several grown horses that I always look for and most of the time they are right there happily spending their day. I read somewhere that the donkeys are around to help keep the predators, like coyotes, away because there are quite a number of them in our area. So, they are the protectors of the fold, so to speak.

  One thing I have noticed is that not only do the ponies stay close by the horses (maybe their mothers), but all the animals stay fairly close to each other. Well, the goats are usually off doing their own thing, but they do seem to tolerate the other animals in their pasture. It is a comforting thing to me to look for “my” animals when I drive by and I somehow feel kinda sad when I don’t see them … as if my day just got a little cloudy. Of course, I always talk to them from my car and tell them to have a good day.

   My thoughts are that people and church are like those animals in the pastures. We are the horses and ponies and we like to be around other people. And, it is especially important that we be around the person of faith … that is … church people. The scriptures caution us that, “some people have given up the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” (Hebrew 10:25 CEV).

   I know all the arguments about you not wanting to be around church people because they seem to be “holier than you” or that “they are a bunch of hypocrites” and so on. But, the church is the Church of God where we can learn about God, loving God, loving others, and getting along with others. Sure, you can feel God from your back deck on Sunday morning and you may even read a bit of your Bible as you have your coffee, but there is nothing as affirming and growing in faith like being around the people of God for support and comfort when needed.

 Just like the horses and ponies. The ponies stay close to the others as they learn how to deal with growing and maturing into a full-grown horse. So we stay close to each other in the church to learn how to grow and mature in our faith and walk with God. You just cannot do it alone. Even if you don’t like all the people.

  Meanwhile the goats are running around the periphery of the field, doing their own thing, but still ultimately accomplishing the same thing as the horses. Eating the grass and taking care of their kids. Just on their own schedule. But, they still hang close to each other and help each other. The church is like this. Some calm horses, some quirky goats, but all working toward the same thing.

  I really hesitate to compare Jesus to the donkeys, but He is our Protector. When the evil things come toward us, if our faith and trust is in Him, He will keep us from harm….even if it means (meant) losing His own life to do so. It’s all about fellowshipping with each other, growing and maturing, and trusting in our Protector.   And for today my friends, this has been the gospel according to Jimmy.