When the white sheep is the black sheep - How Jehovah sees our uniqueness

[Hubi]

Dear brothers and sisters,

Imagine a large flock of black sheep. They all look the same. But in the middle of them suddenly stands a single white sheep.

What do you think is happening?

All eyes turn to this one sheep. It stands out immediately. It is different.

In this flock, the white sheep would suddenly be ... the “black sheep of the family”.

We know this expression well: “the black sheep of the family”. It usually describes someone who doesn't fit in, who is different, perhaps even excluded.

But you know what? This very image can help us understand something very important about Jehovah:

He loves precisely those who are different, who stand out - and he turns what people often see as weakness into something beautiful.

When the white sheep is the black sheep - How Jehovah sees our uniqueness

1. people often see being different in a negative light - Jehovah does not

The world we live in loves uniformity. Anyone who doesn't conform, who thinks or looks differently, is quickly labeled.

Perhaps you have experienced this yourself:

- At school, you were made fun of because you didn't party like the others.

- At work, you were ridiculed for being honest.

- Maybe even in your family you are the only one who serves Jehovah.

Sometimes we feel like the white sheep in the flock: alone, watched, perhaps misunderstood.

But how does Jehovah see this?

Let's read 1 Samuel 16:7:

"Jehovah does not see as people see. Men see only what the eyes perceive, but Jehovah sees into the heart."

How comforting that is! Jehovah does not see the “color of our skin”. He sees our heart. He sees our faithfulness. He sees our desire to please him - even if the world does not understand us.

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2. Jesus was the white sheep

Let's think about Jesus.

When he came to earth, he was completely different from everyone around him. He spoke to people who shunned others. He forgave where others condemned. He brought light into a world full of darkness.

And what happened?

People labeled him. They mocked him. They even said:

“He is possessed by demons.” - John 8:48.

Jesus was also the white sheep in a flock of black sheep.

But why?

Because he refused to conform to the darkness of the world.

So if you sometimes feel different ... you're in good company.

3. Jehovah loves our uniqueness

Maybe you feel like that white sheep yourself: you stand out, you're not like the others, you might even be the only one in your family who serves Jehovah.

But you know what? Jehovah often uses people like that in particular.

Psalm 139:14 says:

"I thank you because I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that very well."

Jehovah deliberately made you the way you are. Your character, your personality, even your quirks - he doesn't see all of this as a flaw, but as part of a loving, unique plan.

Illustration: The shepherd and the white sheep

Imagine the following:

A shepherd owns a large flock of black sheep. One day, a little white sheep is born to him. It is different. The other sheep push it away. It is shunned. It is often left alone at the edge of the pasture.

But the shepherd notices it. Every day, he goes to this white sheep, gently strokes its coat and says: "You are special. If you are missing, my flock is incomplete."

One day, a storm comes. The sheep crowd together, but the white sheep stays behind. The shepherd immediately leaves the others alone for a moment and runs through the rain, searching, calling, until he finds the white sheep, wet and shivering.

He takes it in his arms, carries it home, dries it off and says softly: "I've found you. You belong to me."

Brothers and sisters, this is exactly how Jehovah is with us. Even if others find us “different” or don't understand us - for Jehovah, we are the sheep that he keeps a special eye on.

4. our mission: Trust in the shepherd

In Jehovah's eyes, it is not being different that is the problem - but running away from the shepherd.

That is why Jesus said in John 10:14:

"I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me."

This means that even if you feel like the only white sheep, the shepherd knows you by name. He knows exactly where you are. And he loves you just as you are.

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The next time you feel like the “black sheep” because you are different from the world, remember:

In a flock of black sheep, the white sheep is not wrong. It is simply unique.

And in Jehovah's eyes, you are not a “black sheep”, but a beloved, precious sheep that he knows personally and protects.

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Dear brothers and sisters, let us take this thought with us today:

It is better to be a white sheep going with the shepherd than to be a black sheep following the flock but losing the shepherd.

Let us stay close to Jehovah. Because even if we are “different” in the eyes of the world, we are just right in his eyes.

 

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