The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

(John 10:11)

Meditation

I haven’t had a lot of experience with sheep. I worked on a couple of farms that had a few sheep but not enough that they needed a shepherd. The one thing that I do know about sheep is they are pretty dumb. They will get themselves in some not so good, even dangerous, predicaments just for a morsel of grass. There have been times in my life when I’ve been as dumb as a sheep. I would put myself in some stupid, even dangerous, situations just because I was looking for a good time. I would get drunk or high and drive my car or swim in river rapids just above a waterfall. The only reason I or anyone else does idiotic things like that is because we are trying to escape the reality of our own unhappiness. I thought true happiness was going to be found right here, in this life, but I was wrong.

This verse is a reference to a time many of us don’t understand. It’s a time when a few dozen sheep could mean the difference between prosperity and servitude. So every sheep and its progeny were very important to the shepherd and his family. A good shepherd would give his life to protect his flock. Every single one of those sheep was important to him. The shepherd and his flock are a biblical type, symbolizing Jesus, the good shepherd, and all of us, the sheep. Jesus gave himself so that we might all be saved from the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus proved he was a good shepherd by dying on the cross so that we might live. Jesus wants you to follow him, the good shepherd.

True happiness comes from knowing, trusting and following Jesus. I may have had a modicum of fun in those moments of pleasure, but then I’d wake up the next morning and be right back where I was before. Then, stupidly like a sheep looking for the next morsel of grass, I’d do it all over again the next chance I got. I was looking, desperately searching for some way to make myself happy, when all I had to do was open my heart to the good shepherd and follow him. I was like a lost sheep, wandering around the hills of Judea in ancient Israel. Like a lost sheep, I had little chance of finding my own way back to the flock. I needed the good shepherd, Jesus, to come find me. He’s looking for you too, so listen for his still small voice, calling you to repent.

Daily Prayer

God of our fathers, we praise and glorify your name to the four corners of the earth. We know the power of your will and what it means for our lives. It was your plan, from the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, to provide a path for our salvation. Father, that path led your Christ right to the cross. He proved himself to be the good shepherd. He gave his life to save us from ourselves. We were like blind men and women, wandering around looking for what we think will make us happy. We are like lost sheep, who will never find our way. Jesus searches us out, he seeks us when we are lost. Then, you rejoice with him when one of us are found. Give us a heart like Jesus, that we might help shepherd others to the truth of your mercy and grace. Give us your words of love for anyone seeking but not finding. Thank you, Father, for your saving grace, for your mercy to forgive our many sins, and for the opportunity to serve you through serving our fellow man. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!