Blake Long

I can be a very stubborn person at times (my wife says, “Amen” to that). I’m hardheaded and want to do things my way, or think my opinion is correct, or don’t want to admit I was wrong.

And if we admit it, we can all be this way (so don’t be stubborn!). We all have the tendency to choose our own way, to think we’re always right, to never admit we’re wrong on something. We do this in life with our friends, our families, our co-workers, and our spouses. But more than anything, we do this with God. We are stubborn sheep.

This is why I’m so thankful for Hannah E. Harrison’s new children’s book The Good Shepherd and the Stubborn Sheep: A Story of God’s Redemptive Love, published by Zonderkids. (I’m excited for this as Hannah and her family goes to church with my family!)

Harrison’s story depicts a stubborn sheep, George, who chooses to run away after he decides he doesn’t need a haircut like the Good Shepherd says. So he goes his own way, ventures out into the world on his own—away from the Good Shepherd.

However, George quickly finds out he’s made a mistake when he gets into trouble and becomes lost.

“This clever and humorous story inspired by the parable of the lost sheep and Psalm 23 helps kids see how God is a Good Shepherd who’s always nearby,” the book’s front cover mentions, “ready to help us when we make a mistake or bad decision, and who also never stops loving us.”

My favorite line of this story is when the Good Shepherd picks the stubborn sheep up.

He put me on his shoulders and he carried me home.

That’s the story of every Christian. As we drift, as we remain stubborn, the Lord comes and gets us in our sin and carries us home. One day, He will carry us home all the way to glory.

I also loved how the end of the book displays Psalm 23. It’s a great book for kids to understand God’s redeeming love in a simple yet profound way. Even as I heard it read for the first time, I couldn’t help but meditate on God’s love for me as He carries me home.