DICROCOELIUM-DENDRITICUM

I Was Just Thinking About - - - 

When the visible Church is referenced, it is often referred to as “the flock of God.” A basic reason for this is the understanding one has received from passages of Scripture, such as Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd…” and John 10 where Jesus declared: “I am the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep…My sheep near My voice and they follow Me…” In Luke 2, shepherds come to the place where Jesus was born and in John 1, when John the Baptist saw Jesus he declared: ““Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

With all of the above being stated, The Scriptures also point out the reality of dicrocoelium-dendriticum becoming a disturbing presence within the flock of God. The question is: What is it and how does it become a factor in terms of the sheep and flock? It is described in the following way, “Dicrocoeliosis is a globally present parasitic infection caused by Dicroceolium, which infect the bile ducts and gall bladder of wild and domestic animals. Since it is not as pathogenic as other flukes very little is known about this parasite…The adult lancet fluke necessarily inhabits the liver of its definitive host, specifically the bile ducts and gall bladder of domesticated and wild ruminating animals (sheep, goat and cattle). Although, they can also be found in the liver of dogs, rabbits, horses, humans and some rodents,” (Subject-matter gleaned from the Blog: dtjsoft.com).

Within the flock of God, the greatest contributor to the spread of Dicrocoelium-Dendriticum are the shepherds who neglect the flock and show very little regard for its well-being. Ezekiel 34:1-6 summarizes: “The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them…Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts…”

In a personal one on one session with Peter, John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter about his love for Him. Jesus indicates that a demonstration of professed love would be seen in his relationship to the lambs and sheep. Jesus told Peter: “Feed My lambs…Shepherd My sheep…Feed My sheep…” To the persecuted and scattering Church, Peter shares a lesson from his heart to those who will have to be responsible to tend to the needs of the believers. In I Peter 5:1-4, “As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: Be shepherds of God’s flock…watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock…”

We live in a day of disenfranchisement, delusion, discontent and disruption within the visible Church. The larvae infiltrates the church when the Pastors (Shepherds) neglect their duties and fail to safeguard the flock from the intrusions of the culture. As a result, the flock becomes diseased or disillusioned and scatters. There is an increasing number of the “Nones” (religiously unaffiliated) and the “Dones” (dedicated church members who have decided to stop going to church). The Good Shepherd longs after and prays for His sheep to return to Him (John 17). What is the level of your care and concern for the “other sheep” and the flock the Savior loves? Consider these things with me.