Sheep {John 10, Psalm 78}

Many times in the bible, those who are followers of Christ are compared to sheep.

Being called His flock is both comforting and thought provoking. My pastor has been preaching from John the past several months and this last Sunday he went through the first part of chapter 10 - All about Jesus being the Good Shepherd.

So, here’s the thought provoking part. As we all have heard and some of us may have experienced, sheep are not the sharpest pencil in the box; in fact they pretty much are - pardon my language - stupid. They can’t find their own food or water - they wander off from the flock many times and can never find their way back even if they aren’t very far off, they are defenseless and can even end up drowning just by trying to get a drink.(I’m sure there is more). I could get offended at this analogy I guess, but then when I really think about it, I am just like a sheep. I am helpless on my own. I may think I’m okay, I may act independent, perfect, got it all together; but in all honesty, I’m not, none of us are. We are lost, hopeless, little lambs.

Now, here is the comforting part! If you have surrendered to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He is your Shepherd! He knows your name, He leads you with His loving voice, He takes care of you, protects you. Just like a Shepherd, He will discipline us when we need it, that’s His love for us, His desire for us to come after Him like a lamb comes after his shepherd, and through it all his love comes shining through. How can He do this? Because He Himself was the sacrificial Lamb, taking all of our sins and wrong doings onto Himself, so that in turn He could be our Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd who gave Himself for the sheep. 

That is what God has been teaching me this past week. I challenge you to go read Psalm 78 - it is all about the Israelites and how they, like sheep wandered away again and again from Him, yet God, continually showed His mercy and grace, at times through discipline and hardship, always drawing them back to Himself. It ends with the verse pictured below. It ends with how God placed a good king to shepherd His people, David; who shepherded with an “upright heart” and “skillful hand” - and David is an old Testament picture of Jesus, a picture of how Jesus shepherds His own! 

Then go read John 10 and near the end you will read these awesome words:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them

out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

{John 10:27-30}

Are you one of His own? His flock is the most wonderful place in the world.

Until next time…