4.13.2025 Word from the Pastor

Sheep or Goats?

These days, Pastor Hong has been asking me to reach out to different Craigslist ads as we continue to grow our little collection of animals. It honestly feels like we’re raising an entire farm! Just this past weekend, we brought in a new female goat, and it’s always a joy to see how much the young children love interacting with the animals—especially the goats.

But earlier this week, that new goat managed to escape the pen. Another pastor and I spent about 30 minutes trying to get her back in. Since she’s new, she’s afraid of people and quickly figured out how to run into the nearby apartment complex to evade us. I ended up jumping over the fence multiple times to scare her back toward our side. We tried to corner her several times, but she was slick—always slipping away. Eventually, though, we got her back in the pen.

As we were trying to wrangle her, I thought about how hard it was to control this goat. We used to have a male goat who dominated the pen. Anytime we fed the animals, he would headbutt the others out of the way so he could eat all the leaves himself. He was the self-proclaimed “king” of the pen. Eventually, Pastor Hong gave him away because of his domineering attitude.

Trying to control this new goat reminded me of something Jesus said in the Bible—that on the last day, he will separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus often describes the Father as a good shepherd, and himself as one who calls his sheep by name.

There’s a real difference between sheep and goats. Sheep follow their master. They listen for the voice of their shepherd. They’re helpless on their own and rely on the protection of the flock. Goats, on the other hand, are independent. They do their own thing, go where they want, and are hard to manage.

Jesus says that on the last day, he will separate the sheep from the goats—and the sheep will be welcomed into the master’s fold.

So the question is this: Are we living like sheep or goats?

Goats are independent. They follow their own will. But sheep listen for the shepherd’s voice. They are wholly reliant on their master.

Let us choose to live as sheep—following the way of our Lord and King, Jesus. Let us lay down our own way and walk in full dependence on the Good Shepherd.

Amen.