Two portions of scripture are widely known by many people. First, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Children are taught early to memorize this wonderful truth. Psalm 23 is also very popular. It gives a beautiful picture, both of a God who cares completely and of his sheep completely at peace.
The Psalmist David describes God’s care as providing nourishment, guidance, protection, and the abundance that comes when confidence is placed in him. We hang on to this scripture as our own personal statements of faith through the good and bad of life.
To take the theme to a more intimate level, we turn to John 10 where Jesus said that the Good Shepherd is none other than himself. We can put a name to the shepherd of Psalm 23. He is Jesus Christ, the Creator of all that is. The one who carefully formed you and I, the one who thinks about us, the one who gave himself to purchase our salvation, is the wonderful Good Shepherd.
We could easily be tempted into dwelling on the great things that the Good Shepherd does but let’s, for a moment, just think about his person.
Sandwiched between scripture about His deity is this passage in John 10:1-18. Jesus is not just a good shepherd as opposed to a slothful incompetent shepherd. He is God. He is the ultimate shepherd. He has no rival. If we can trust and have confidence in anyone, it is Jesus Christ. Can we even trust ourselves? We don’t have the knowledge, wisdom, and love that would match God’s. He is the one we can safely run to and cling to.
When challenged by life situations, we can draw closer to the good shepherd. Even better we can just remain close to him all the time. By keeping near him, we will not only be safe, but we will keep ourselves from wandering into lonely and dangerous terrain.
The thing that overwhelms me about God the Good Shepherd is that he is with me. As his lamb, I have the assurance of his unending presence. Like Paul the apostle, you and I can joyously proclaim, “what can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. (Romans 8:39) This Lord is the Good Shepherd. We appreciate your Comments