Do You Need a Shepherd?
Do you have any sheep-like qualities?
Verse of the Day
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Today’s Devotional
I am such a sheep. I read an article about actual sheep by David Murray. Here’s his summary:
-Sheep are foolish
-Sheep are irrational
-Sheep are slow to learn, even if the lesson is painful
-Sheep are demanding
-Sheep are stubborn
-Sheep are prone to wander or stray from their shepherd or herd
-Sheep are unpredictable
-Sheep tend to copy the behavior of other sheep
-Sheep are restless
-Sheep are dependent
-Sheep from all over the world display these same characteristics.
I now officially understand why humans are continually compared to sheep in the Bible. Every single one of those traits of sheep could be used to describe me. Do any of those qualities describe you?
Let’s go a little deeper about sheep being dependent. Murray said this (again, about actual sheep) in his article. “Some animals can cope and thrive without any close supervision. Not sheep. They are very dependent on their shepherd. They cannot live without him (or her).”
Jesus tells us that he is our Shepherd. Our Good Shepherd. He knows each one of us. Do we know him as well as we should? Would our enjoyment of life, our ability to thrive, increase if we sought every day to know Him better?
If the above list of characteristics is true about me, then I definitely need a shepherd. I think sometimes we go astray when we are looking to other people as our guide instead of God. Our peers, people we see on social media, our families, our pastors – all of these people are also “sheep”. If they do not point me to the Shepherd, then they are not worth imitating.
There’s one more quality of sheep that I missed until recently because it’s not as easy to see today. In Bible times, sheep were incredibly valuable. Their wool was used for clothing, they were a source of food, and they were how many people made a living. Maybe Jesus is trying to remind each of us how valuable we are to Him.
Jesus laid down His life so that we could be with God forever. He also laid down His crown to live in “sheep” form. To model for us how to really live. And love. And serve. And yet we continue to get things backwards. We are such sheep. Thank goodness God loves us enough to provide such a loving Shepherd.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do any of the characteristics listed about sheep ring a little too close to home for you?
Who or what do you look to as your shepherd (even if only occasionally) other than Jesus?
How can you thank Jesus for His gentle, loving guidance today?