I love sheep. I think they're so cute. One of my favorite books that I read to my youngest son was Russell the Sheep. I mean, look at him, he's so stinking cute. (and he has a really cute frog that hangs out with him.)Now in real life, sheep don't look or act like Russell. They are still cute, but you need to know that they are really helpless. It takes a special person to be a shepherd. He or she has to be very patient; be willing to fight off preditors; and be willing to put their sheep's needs before their own.
The cool thing about sheep is that they will only answer their own shepherd's call. You can have a lot of flocks all meshed together on a hill and all the shepherds hanging out, but when one shepherd is ready to leave he'll give a special call or whistle, and his sheep will separate themselves from the others and follow him.
We are compared in the bible to sheep. When you think about it, it makes total sense. Jesus is our patient shepherd. He takes care of us; it's in His name that He fights off the preditors; He grooms us and sheers us to keep us healthy. Psalm 23 paints a beautiful picture of the Lord as our Shepherd. You may have said this Psalm hundreds of times, but look at it with fresh eyes. You're the sheep; you're helpless; you will drown if you drink from water that isn't still; you taste yummy to preditors; you like to run off your own way. David understood this when he wrote this Psalm because he was a shepherd before he was a king. I also love John 10:11-15 because Jesus tells us why he's the good shepherd: He was willing to lay down His life for His sheep.
Jesus came to give us life. (John 10:10) He took on the preditors of our very lives and fought them off at the cross. How do we know He is victorious? How do we really know He is the good shepherd? Two simple words: He rose. In those words we know He can conquer, set-free, heal, love, change...anything! Feel the love of the Good Shepherd. Hear Him whistle for you and follow Him.
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