The Good Shepherd

 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...many of ou probably know where that comes from and could probably continue on with it. It is Psalm 23. What a blessed Psalm it is (then again, each of the Psalms are a blessing for us in our lives). Psalm 23 is probably one of the best known passages of Scripture, ranking up there with John 3:16. 

I write this on Sunday, April 25. Today is the 4th Sunday of Easter. On this Sunday in the Church Year, we remember that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) He is the Good Shepherd who watches over us each day. He is the One who is there for us, when the devil comes, seeking to devour us. He is there for us as the world around us seeks to lead us astray, onto the paths that do not lead to life eternal. He is the One who is with us day after day, night after night, every minute of the day.

Unfortunately, we often stray away from the Shepherd and the path of eternal life. We see that tuft of grass on the other side of the path (a temptation), and we wander off after it. We really don't even think about what that temptation might do to us in our lives. All we can think of is that we really think that temptation is going to be so wonderful that we just can't live without it. In truth, we cannot live with it. Wandering from the path into sin, leads only to death and damnation. 

That is why we need this Good Shepherd. He seeks us out. He comes to us in our sin. He finds where we have strayed to. He looks for us where we have willingly gone to because we wanted to sin instead of following Him. That is our Good Shepherd.

Not only does He seek us out in our sinfulness, He gives up His life for us. That is the most glorious thing about Good Shepherd Sunday in the middle of the season of Easter. The Good Shepherd faced the devil, the world and our sinful nature as He went to the cross, to suffer and die for us. He destroyed the power of the grave over us as He rose victorious from the dead. The Good Shepherd has laid down His life and took it up again for us, for our salvation. 

The Good Shepherd, crucified, died and risen, is there to lead us day after day. He is leading each one of us, as we are the sheep of His pasture. (I just want to be a sheep, baa, baa, baa - if you know the song, it will resonate through your thoughts at this point.) Following the Good Shepherd is the most wonderful thing that can happen in our lives. Listening to His voice, we find comfort in the midst of all this chaos in the world today. We hear Him speaking words of peace and comfort to us. And we follow Him.

I encourage you to read Psalm 23 again today. It is the Introit for this Sunday. I encourage you to read John 10 once again. Yes, a portion of that will be the Gospel reading today. And I encourage you to follow the Good Shepherd today and throughout this week. I will be right there with you. Baa!