Monday 15 February 2016

'I am the Good Shepherd'


One of my fondest memories of sheep was last summer.
That must be the strangest way I've started a blog, but let me explain...

Every August I have the privilege of helping at Causeway Primary Camp, a Scripture Union camp based in Ballycastle for p5-p7s. On the Thursday, we always take the kids to Watertop Farm for a day of outdoor pursuits. Last year while we were there, one of the farmers was shearing the sheep in the barn, and we were all able to watch. As if that wasn't cool enough, one of the sheep didn't fancy being bald and did a runner into the crowd, which was us. When we tried to stop the sheep from escaping the barn, he jumped into the air and head butted the leader of our camp. It's a great memory.

Sheep. Shepherds. It's common imagery used throughout the Scriptures, and last night at YF in Helen's Bay Youth we were looking at Jesus' latest 'I am' statement. You guessed it, it's about sheep...

I am the good shepherd. 
The good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep.
- John 10 v 11

So Jesus is the shepherd, and we are the sheep. Sounds simple enough, right? But so what? How is Jesus like a shepherd, and how are we like sheep? I think one of the best passages to understand the Father-heart of God as our shepherd is found in the Gospel of Luke. It's found in the form of a parable, told by none other than the Good Shepherd Himself. Check it:

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
- Luke 15 v 4 - 6

Amazing. God doesn't just care about the collective group of sheep, He cares about each individual sheep. As Serena quite poignantly put it at YF, Jesus knows each of us not by our number but by our name. He's a personal shepherd. Jesus guides, protects, and provides for not just the flock of sheep, but for every single sheep. He isn't just a shepherd, he's my shepherd. Your shepherd.

I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
- John 10 v 14

The Good Shepherd certainly knows you on a deep, intimate and personal level. But the question that we must ask ourselves is, do we know him in the same deep, intimate and personal way?

If you're a sheep in Jesus' flock, 
don't you think it's time to get to know the Shepherd? 

No comments:

Post a Comment