“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—“. John 10:11-14
We are looking at the I-am statements by Jesus that the gospel of John records. This week we will reflect on Jesus, the good shepherd. It reminds me of an encounter found in Matthew 19. A young man comes to Jesus asking what he has to do to get eternal life. Jesus sidesteps the complement and responds that no one is good but God. Keep his commandments, Jesus advises. The man argues that he has but realizes there must be more than just being “good”. Jesus focuses now not on actions but on the man’s heart. Jesus challenges the man to sell his goods and give the money to the poor. The man leaves sad because he is rich.
Often we think of the “good shepherd” as the person who takes care of us and leads us to the “good life.” Unfortunately Hollywood and culture defines for us what that good life looks like. It certainly does not include war, job challenges, divorce, illness or financial constraints. When these challenges enter our life we are tempted to question the goodness of God as our shepherd. We wail that government should be doing life differently. We demand that the people at church be perfect and not be forgiven sinners like ourselves. Our knee-jerk reaction is to cry that we do not have a good shepherd who gives us a good life.
Let us start this week refocusing our thinking. Only God is good. We are just passing through this life with God as our shepherd who knows what is good for us. Hmmmm. OK. Let’s start the week with an acrostic on the word “shepherd.” When we think of God as our shepherd, what do we think of? S is for _____, H is for _____, E is for _____, P is for ______, H could also be for _____, E could also be for _____, R is for _____, and D is for _____. Blessings as he leads you to green pastures and still waters this week.
On the Way to Wonder 