Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

The shepherd and his lamb

Sunday, May 15, 2011

John 10:7-10
Jesus said to the people and the Pharisees, "I am the gate.

"Whoever enters through me will be saved; she will come in and go out and find pasture.

"A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy. I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly."

Jesus came, in other words, to give himself for the sake of the many. For my sake. Unlike nearly all of us, he does not consider his own well-being or even his own personal goals when he decides to give. Because he suffered pain and rejection and eventually murder, Jesus' worthiness to lead me along the same path matches his inspiring rhetoric.

Words can be so cheap. Not so the words of Jesus.

Consider Jesus the shepherd. He knows the trails through the wilderness, he knows where water always flows, even in drought. He stays put in storms when the grass is good, even when he might be uncomfortable. He has met the enemy, and the enemy has retreated. He knows everything he needs to know to keep me safe. And he touches my skin and my heart with the deepest kind of extra-virgin oil, loving me with it, caressing me with it. He lets me rest under his hand.

"You prepare a table for me, in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. I am certain your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. I will dwell in your house forever" (Psalm 23).

Consider Jesus the persecuted prophet. He predicted his arrest and crucifixion and did nothing to stop it. He chose words or silence, but never swords, to make any points his Father wanted him to make. He really didn't make points; he just waited and listened for what his Father told him to do. This was surely at times excruciating for him, if sweating drops of blood indicates excruciated-ness. He did not follow his power up; he followed it down.

"When he was insulted, he returned it not. When he suffered he did not threaten, but handed himself over to the One who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:23-24). God told Jesus to wait, and follow, and if that involved death, well ... Jesus put up one protest in the dead of the night, while everyone else slept. Even then he immediately pulled back his plea and invited his Father to do exactly what He needed to do.

The apostle Peter says we are like sheep gone astray. But we can return to the shepherd and "guardian of our souls." As a lamb I will always be safe in the hands of Jesus. As his brother, I will always be asked to walk the way of death and listen only to what God says, do only what blesses and protects those around me. God cares for me, and I don't need to look hard for him, neither right nor left, back or ahead. His goodness and mercy, and his beauty are all around me now, as the American Indians instinctively knew and sang. My own instincts have been dulled by self-protection. By insulating myself from others' pain I unconsciously resist my need for Jesus' guidance and protection and so don't notice how quickly it's available. But that path turns around; it always eventually heads down. Jesus is there, waiting.

You are my shepherd and provide all my needs. You guide me to green grass and pure water. You lead me through valleys of death by paths of righteousness. Always you restore my soul, Jesus.

Devotions Archive

The shepherd and his lamb

Sunday, May 15, 2011