Think of a busy street near you. Now imagine that all rules were taken away from driving on that street. No speed limit, no side you are supposed to drive on, anything goes. Can you see all the danger, confusion and harm that would ensue from a no rules, anything goes street?

This is an analogy for our spiritual lives. If we live an amoral life of no rules and anything goes, confusion and harm will be the fruit of it. When we live a life without God, our spirits fail.

We are called to live on the Street of Life. There are rules to obey on this street. Just as there are rules for drivers to obey in order that driving on the streets might work for all who drive, there are God rules for us to obey on the Street of Life so that our lives might work this day and forever. God wants us to live according to his rules so that we will not be confused about who we are and know the eternal safety we have in him.

Shepherd your people with your staff. (Micah 7:14) Shepherd's used their staffs to fend off predators to their sheep. They also used the staff to pull back straying sheep into the herd. And, at the sheep gate where the sheep would enter safe pasture for the nights sleep, a shepherd would hold the staff low and parallel to the ground and make each sheep crawl under it. The purpose of this was to make sure the sheep was not injured or bleeding in any way.

Now, if you can work with me, let us say the staff of the shepherd represents God's rules that keep us on the Street of Life. The staff (God's rule) fights off the evil of the greatest predator that seeks to kill us - Satan. The staff pulls wayward sheep back to the community of God that is found on the Street of Life. Staffs check for injuries, tells us we need healing and to come back to the rules of God.

God wants our lives to "work perfectly" on the Street of Life. In a world that wants to throw all rules out the window, the Christian runs to obey God's rules and be led by the Shepherd's staff.

Blessed by the BEST,

+Fr. John