Once someone told me I was a shepherd. I was confused
because I didn't have any sheep. I knew that they were talking about the
spiritual gift of shepherding. When you have the gift of shepherding you are
kind of like a mentor or teacher to others. Once again, I didn't feel like I
had any followers or sheep. I just said, "thanks" then moved on.
Later that week I was in class at LBC. We were talking about shepherds. Now, if you were to ask children back in Jesus' time what they wanted to be when they grew up, my guess is they would not choose to be a shepherd (If they actually had a choice). Shepherds were one of the lowest jobs you could have back then. They were out in the fields all day, sweaty, smelled like sheep, and had to protect the sheep from wild animals. That doesn't sound like a dream job.
If you were to ask a child today if they would rather play shepherds or cowboys which do you think they would say? I think they would say cowboys. When they think about cowboys they think or riding horses, herding cattle, and using guns (for some reason children like pretending to play with those, probably because we tell them not to do it).
Back to LBC my professor talked about how Jesus was called the Good Shepherd. Jesus was a shepherd.... wait, wasn't his father a carpenter? Why would Jesus want to be a shepherd? Jesus is a shepherd to us.
Why isn't Jesus a cowboy? Well first off, cowboys didn't exist back then. Next I don't think we, Jesus' sheep, would appreciate it if he was a cowboy. Cowboys ride behind their herd. They use force to lead their herd where they want them to go.
Jesus doesn't force us to do anything. He gave us free-will. We get to choose if we follow Jesus. That's why Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Shepherds lead their herds. They shoe the herd where to go. But, if one of the sheep chooses to leave the herd the shepherd goes to find the sheep. We, the sheep of the shepherd's herd, have a choice. We don't have to follow the shepherd. We can choose to leave the herd, but Jesus, the shepherd, comes after us. He is always with us. He wants us to come back to the herd when we fall away. He doesn't whip us to make us come back. He picks us up, takes us back, and cares for us.
What does this mean for us? It means that we are to be shepherds to others, because we are to be like Jesus. We are to teach others and help bring them to the herd of the Good Shepherd.
It means we need to remember that as Jesus' sheep we have a choice. We can follow the Good Shepherd or we can choose to go our own way. Jesus wants us to follow him but we have free-will. The great thing is that if we leave the herd Jesus doesn't just leave us alone. He goes after us. When we are ready to come back he accepts us. This isn't a once and done thing. We don't get one chance to be in Jesus' herd. He loves us so much that he doesn't want us to perish in our own choices or sin.
That doesn't mean we get a pass to go do what we want until we know we are about to die. We should want to follow Christ because we know better. It is one thing to not have knowledge of what we should do. It is another thing to know the truth and choose not to follow it. We don't know when we will die. We don't know when Jesus will come back. Choose today to follow the Good Shepherd.
So, do you want to follow a cowboy or a shepherd? Will you choose to follow the Good Shepherd? How can you shepherd others today?
Later that week I was in class at LBC. We were talking about shepherds. Now, if you were to ask children back in Jesus' time what they wanted to be when they grew up, my guess is they would not choose to be a shepherd (If they actually had a choice). Shepherds were one of the lowest jobs you could have back then. They were out in the fields all day, sweaty, smelled like sheep, and had to protect the sheep from wild animals. That doesn't sound like a dream job.
If you were to ask a child today if they would rather play shepherds or cowboys which do you think they would say? I think they would say cowboys. When they think about cowboys they think or riding horses, herding cattle, and using guns (for some reason children like pretending to play with those, probably because we tell them not to do it).
Back to LBC my professor talked about how Jesus was called the Good Shepherd. Jesus was a shepherd.... wait, wasn't his father a carpenter? Why would Jesus want to be a shepherd? Jesus is a shepherd to us.
Why isn't Jesus a cowboy? Well first off, cowboys didn't exist back then. Next I don't think we, Jesus' sheep, would appreciate it if he was a cowboy. Cowboys ride behind their herd. They use force to lead their herd where they want them to go.
Jesus doesn't force us to do anything. He gave us free-will. We get to choose if we follow Jesus. That's why Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Shepherds lead their herds. They shoe the herd where to go. But, if one of the sheep chooses to leave the herd the shepherd goes to find the sheep. We, the sheep of the shepherd's herd, have a choice. We don't have to follow the shepherd. We can choose to leave the herd, but Jesus, the shepherd, comes after us. He is always with us. He wants us to come back to the herd when we fall away. He doesn't whip us to make us come back. He picks us up, takes us back, and cares for us.
What does this mean for us? It means that we are to be shepherds to others, because we are to be like Jesus. We are to teach others and help bring them to the herd of the Good Shepherd.
It means we need to remember that as Jesus' sheep we have a choice. We can follow the Good Shepherd or we can choose to go our own way. Jesus wants us to follow him but we have free-will. The great thing is that if we leave the herd Jesus doesn't just leave us alone. He goes after us. When we are ready to come back he accepts us. This isn't a once and done thing. We don't get one chance to be in Jesus' herd. He loves us so much that he doesn't want us to perish in our own choices or sin.
That doesn't mean we get a pass to go do what we want until we know we are about to die. We should want to follow Christ because we know better. It is one thing to not have knowledge of what we should do. It is another thing to know the truth and choose not to follow it. We don't know when we will die. We don't know when Jesus will come back. Choose today to follow the Good Shepherd.
So, do you want to follow a cowboy or a shepherd? Will you choose to follow the Good Shepherd? How can you shepherd others today?
John 10:11
Image from here.
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