Several months ago, I was inspired to create some t-shirts with snappy phrases that might spark conversation about my Christian faith. I was super excited about my Canva “mock-ups” and shared the designs with my sisters.
One of them seemed perfect for this year’s 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth—a little patriotic, a little cheeky, and definitely centered on Christ.
WE THE SHEEPLE.
By Faith and Not by Sight
My older sister’s reaction was immediate and harsh.
“Oh H-to-the-E-to-the-Double-Toothpicks—NO! That would trigger so many young people. They would HATE that and never wear that!”
I was surprised—and a little stung—by how sure she was that it would flop. I shelved the idea.
But her reaction got me thinking.
We live in a culture that prizes independence. Nobody wants to be called a sheep—blindly following the herd, incapable of thinking for themselves.
And yet people are blindly following others more than ever in this age of social media.
Influencers. Celebrities. Political commentators. Trends. Invisible algorithms.
People we’ve never met who tell us what to buy, what to wear, what to think and, apparently, what to get our panties in a bunch over before breakfast.
If you ask me, that kind of following is worse than being a sheep in the religious sense—because at least these sheep know their Shepherd.
Today at church, the readings had me thinking about the word “follower” again. This time with newfound respect.
In Jeremiah, the prophet we call the “Weeping Prophet” complains about the seemingly impossible task of proclaiming God’s Word to a hostile people.
You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped.
— Jeremiah 20:7
God called him to speak His Word, and Jeremiah got laughter, mockery, derision and reproach in return.
So he decides he’s done.
I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more.
— Jeremiah 20:8
I get what Jeremiah’s feeling. It would be easier to “hashtag walk away”. Quit following God’s orders. March to the beat of a more “popular” drummer.
Except it doesn’t work that way once God’s Word gets hold of you:
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
— Jeremiah 20:9
That’s the “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” of it.
In our culture, it’s often easier to say nothing about God at all than to deal with the backlash of following Him.
But staying quiet has its own fire.
Thinking about my sister’s reaction alongside Jeremiah’s struggle put the same question to me:
Stay quiet and blend in, or say the thing that needs to be said, whatever it costs?
In the Gospel, Jesus spells that cost out in black and white:
Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
— Matthew 16:24
Follow me.
Not follow yourself.
Not follow your heart.
Not follow whatever makes you happy.
Follow me.
That’s where this gets particularly uncomfortable in a world that’s grown increasingly secular. Following Christ isn’t hard only because He asks us to take up a cross—it’s hard because everyone around us often seems headed the opposite way.
The Apostles found that out after the Resurrection. They could have gone home. Instead, they went out and proclaimed the Gospel—through persecution, imprisonment, suffering and, for most of them, martyr’s deaths.
They followed.
Not because it was safe.
Not because it was popular.
Because they had encountered the risen Christ.
So yes—I’m a sheep.
And I’m proud of it.
Someone might think that makes me blind or intellectually lazy. I don’t think following Jesus means checking my brain at the door. Quite the opposite. I’ve wrestled, questioned, wandered and wondered enough to know I don’t want to spend my life pretending I can find my own way without Him.
I know my Good Shepherd.
And He knows me.
And when I look around at people who seem so certain they don’t need God, I don’t feel holier-than-thou.
I just feel sad.
Because I know what it’s like to wander. I know what it’s like to try to make sense of everyday life on my own.
And I find myself praying for them:
If only they knew.
If only they knew the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life!
Maybe my sister was right. Maybe WE THE SHEEPLE would trigger some people.
I think I’m going to make my shirt anyway.
Just for me, to wear.
Because like Jeremiah, I can’t contain my love for my Good Shepherd and what He promises us.
And I’m not alone.
When following Him means going against the herd—I know I’ll land with my true flock.
Followers in Christ.
