After my workout I checked on the animals.
Or should I say they checked up on me. Sweet.
When I see these sheep and lambs, my mind often goes to the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world and I am made painfully aware of the huge disparity between my reaction when wronged and his, whose sole response to those who killed him was, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing." He could have destroyed the whole lot of them. Instead, like a sheep before his slaughterer, he died for them. My personal lapses give me a clear picture of my desperate daily need for a Savior. But -- praise God! -- I now belong to the sheep of his fold, the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and the Door to the sheepfold. That is why we need not fear. This is our Father's world. There is nothing that can pluck us out of his hand.
Meanwhile, the kingdom we are building is not a world church. The Lord will establish it when he returns. And when that kingdom comes, the Lamb will be on his throne.