By Louis Enoff

Every time I see sheep with young lambs, I think of the many biblical references to them and how practical those applications are to our walk with the Lord. A story told by traveling evangelist H.A. Ironside took place in the 1930s during lambing season on a sheep farm in Washington State.

Ironside enjoyed watching ewes and their lambs cross the road near his window. At one point, he saw an older ewe followed by the oddest-looking lamb he’d ever seen. The lamb seemed to have six legs and skin that was partially torn from its body. The two legs furthest back were dragging the ground. If you’ve raised sheep, you probably already know what was going on.

When he mentioned the lamb, one of the workers brought it to him and explained. The old ewe had given birth to a lamb that had been bitten by a snake and died. When they brought this orphan lamb to the ewe to mother, she rejected it after a brief look and sniff.

The workers carefully skinned the snake-bitten lamb and tied the hide over the back of the orphan lamb, which left the back legs hanging from the rear. When they brought the orphan lamb back to the old ewe with the hide of the snake-bitten lamb covering its backside, she looked it over, smelled it and took it as her own.

We’re similarly adopted
God accepts us as His children when we’re “covered” by the blood of the Lamb — Christ crucified for us. He sees us as covered by the blood of Jesus when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. Thereby, we have full assurance we’ll be with him in Heaven when we leave this Earth.

We’re accepted by God just as the orphan lamb was accepted by the ewe by the blood of her own lamb. It was the blood of the Lamb that brings us the gift of salvation. That’s why the Bible’s Gospel of John (John 1:29) heralded Jesus with “Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

Enoff writes from Westminster, Md. and is president of Christian Farmers Outreach. Visit christianfarmers.com for more information.