Goats in the Church

David wrote the immortal words in Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd." Jesus, in John chapter 10, described Himself as the "good shepherd," teaching...
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

Later in the chapter, Jesus says:
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
30 I and My Father are one."

Jesus, here in His earthly ministry, was teaching His disciples that He would lay down His life for those He loved.  He pointed out some of the dynamics of that relationship that we, as His sheep, have with our shepherd:  we are known by Him, we hear His voice, and follow Him. We can be challenged to recognize His love for us and authority over us; we can listen for Him and follow as He leads - our hearts can be right before God and devoted to loving our shepherd.

+++++

In Matthew 25, we find a sobering description of two groups of people - those who are the "sheep," the obedient ones, and the "goats," those who disobeyed God, perhaps even pretending to be what they are not. Jesus taught regarding the sheep...
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

Those described as the "righteous," the sheep asked when they had done these things, and we read later in the chapter:  
40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Conversely, the "goats" are told they did not do these things, and the King said to them,
(45) 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Today I want to share with you the story of a church burglary and the rather unusual perpetrators. But, there actually is a spiritual takeaway from it.  

There were no arrests in the crime, even though the guilty parties were caught in the act.  It occurred in Autauga County at Bethesda Church. WSFA reported that the Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene to find the front door, a glass door, shattered.  

And, they encountered the culprits in the church kitchen - the story says that "One was standing on top of a freezer while the other was wondering around the room."

Sound a bit odd?  Why, of course, until you realize that the perps, the criminals - were two goats!!

The television station's website related a post from the Autauga County Sheriff's Office, which said:

Goats Need Jesus Too!

Yesterday Autauga County Sheriff's Office Deputies were dispatched to an alarm call at the Bethesda Church off Co Rd 33. When deputies arrived they thought they had a burglary because the front door glass of the church was broken. Upon performing a search of the premises....two goats were discovered in the kitchen. The owner was notified and the goats were wrangled up and taken back home. We have to say this is a First here in Autauga County to find goats in a church!

There was even visual evidence posted on the Facebook page.

Goats in the Church?  Actually, it's a spiritual concept.  In Matthew 25, Jesus shared a parable about the coming judgment, in which people throughout the earth will be separated into 2 categories: sheep and...goats.  Which is which?  It's all determined by obedience.  The sheep exercised the love of the shepherd; the goats did not.  This can be a reminder that we can all stand to examine our fruit and consider how we are reflecting the character of Christ.

The goats of Autauga County did actually break through the threshold of the church building - they did very little harm, but they could have.  We can make sure that we, the temple of the Holy Spirit, are not breached by factors that are potentially harmful.  The enemy is trying to steal, kill, and destroy - that's his job description.  If we let him in, just for a what might seem harmless or fleeting, we open ourselves up to the destruction that he wants to bring about in our lives.