Thursday, April 27, 2006

A Great Example of what a Good Shepherd is

I love the movie "Babe the Pig." It's cute, it's fun to watch, I like farms, I like sheep dogs and sheep herding, I grew up on a pig farm, and it's got great theological use too! For me, it has everything!

This morning I used a clip of the movie in our preschool devotional. It was for the three-year-old class, so anytime a movie is on, you have their attention.

For those of you who haven't seen it, Farmer Hoggett wins a piglet at a Lion's Club raffle. The pig is different from the start and is adopted by the mother sheep dog, "Fly."

It isn't long before Hoggett notices Babe's unique talent for working with the other barnyard animals and he gets in his head the idea that Babe could be trained to work the sheep.

But Babe works with the sheep in a very different way. Instead of using intimidation and physical force, Babe simply talks to the sheep and asks them to do what needs to be done. He is so curteous and likeable that the sheep are more than happy to follow his lead.

The last scene has Babe and Farmer Hoggett at a sheep herding competiton. Babe runs into a little trouble when he isn't able to communicate with a different breed of sheep, but after receiving the right words, they also listen to him and follow him.

Now, I know that many may think it is absolutely ridiculous to compare the saving work of Jesus Christ with a children's movie, but I am not suggesting we make Babe part of the canon. It's always a blessing though to see how our Savior's love for us pops its head up in the most unusual places!

2 comments:

Preachrboy said...

Are you saying the pastor is a piggie?

Rev. Jim Roemke said...

well, in my case, unfortunately that is somewhat true. But it is interesting if you consider the "unclean" issue of pigs. Pastor's have nothing in themselves that makes them particuarly able or more qualified to preach the holy Word of God. God makes us fit, just like He told Peter, "What God has made clean, do not call common."