“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing”
We might imagine a shepherd only as a sentimental caretaker of sheep. We might picture a Precious Moments bible story where all that shepherds seem to do is lovingly cradle their sheep. The image of a shepherd in the bible, however, is far more encompassing and demanding. A shepherd is “a manager, an owner, a protector, and a provider.” In other words, to say that the LORD is my shepherd is to say that we are in the care of someone else. We are not the ones in charge. We have taken our small kingdoms and surrendered it to the Kingdom of God. It is only when the LORD is our shepherd that we can truly say, I shall not be in want or lack anything. There are, however, false shepherds and hired hands who do not seek our good, but seek to “abandon the sheep” (Jn 10:12) into trouble. So it really matters who or what we are entrusting the care of our lives too. Do we know who our shepherd is? Is it money? Is it fame? Is it our material possessions? Is it ourselves? Many of us go through life experiencing the disappointments of false shepherds who leave us wanting. It is to a people who have gone astray that Jesus says that he alone is “the good shepherd”(Jn 10:11). He alone is the shepherd that can provide a life without lack. What would it mean to follow this Good Shepherd today?
“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing”
We might imagine a shepherd only as a sentimental caretaker of sheep. We might picture a Precious Moments bible story where all that shepherds seem to do is lovingly cradle their sheep. The image of a shepherd in the bible, however, is far more encompassing and demanding. A shepherd is “a manager, an owner, a protector, and a provider.” In other words, to say that the LORD is my shepherd is to say that we are in the care of someone else. We are not the ones in charge. We have taken our small kingdoms and surrendered it to the Kingdom of God. It is only when the LORD is our shepherd that we can truly say, I shall not be in want or lack anything. There are, however, false shepherds and hired hands who do not seek our good, but seek to “abandon the sheep” (Jn 10:12) into trouble. So it really matters who or what we are entrusting the care of our lives too. Do we know who our shepherd is? Is it money? Is it fame? Is it our material possessions? Is it ourselves? Many of us go through life experiencing the disappointments of false shepherds who leave us wanting. It is to a people who have gone astray that Jesus says that he alone is “the good shepherd”(Jn 10:11). He alone is the shepherd that can provide a life without lack. What would it mean to follow this Good Shepherd today?