Every once in a while an ewe gives birth to a lamb and for whatever reason she rejects the baby. It’s possible the mother is old and just too tired to deal with the baby or possibly she doesn’t have enough milk for twin lambs and she decides that rejecting one of them is necessary. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Shepherds commonly refer to these lambs as bummer lambs. Once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind. These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. Their spirit is broken. Unless the shepherd intervenes, the lamb will die.

The shepherd takes the rejected little lamb into his own home. He Feeds it one-on-one with a bottle and keeps it warm and comfortable by the fire. He wraps it up and holds it close so that the lamb is on his chest next to his heart. Because of this closeness, the lamb hears the shepherd’s heartbeat.

When the lamb is strong enough the shepherd will return it to the field with the rest of the flock. But that sheep never forgets how the shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. The little lambs now can stay with the heard and they thrive.

When the shepherd goes out to check on his herd, the most amazing thing occurs. When he calls out to his sheep, do you know what happens?

The first lambs that run to him are the bummer lambs because they know him and know his voice run to him first. It’s because they are loved more, it’s because there is no doubt whatsoever in their mind that their Shepherd loves them. He believes it because it has experienced that love one on one.

We are NOT orphans. We are not rejected, lost and unloved. Yeshoshua (Yeshua) the Messiah loves his bummer lambs. He cares for our every need and holds us close to his heart and we hear his heartbeat. We obey him because we love him. We don’t obey him so we can get anything from him or to obtain eternal life from him. We obey him because of his unfailing love toward us. We may be broken, but only through that brokenness we have experienced, we hear our Masters voice and run to him immediately when he calls.

Until you have been broken, you won’t understand it or know the love and way of the Master.

Steve Caswell