Sheep

Read: John 10:1-18

[Jesus said,] “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.” John 10:14

IN WORD

The Bible offers us plenty of images of our relationship with God. He is the Potter, we are the clay. He is the Vinedresser, we are the vineyard. He is a shield, a refuge, a fortress, and we are the protected. Some of these descriptions are rather impersonal, but this one begins to reflect the relational tenderness of God: He is the Shepherd, and we are the sheep.

Several writers in Hebrew Scripture used this image—Isaiah described us as sheep who have gone astray (53:6)—but David, the shepherd-king of Israel, stated it most poetically and profoundly. In his most famous psalm, he describes how our Shepherd provides all we need; guides us into safe and refreshing places; watches over us even in the deepest, darkest valleys; gives us victory in the presence of our enemies; and fills our lives with goodness and love. The Shepherd is leader, provider, protector, rescuer, and more. The sheep are helpless apart from their Shepherd, but He is everything they need.

We can be grateful for the richness of that image. Jesus used it to describe how the true Shepherd leaves His flock of ninety-nine to find the one that strayed, and to illustrate how His own followers hear His voice and are saved from the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Our pride may not like the fact that sheep aren’t known for intelligence or resourcefulness, but we know the image fits. We really do get lost, don’t know the right way to go, find ourselves in predicaments, and follow the crowd even when we shouldn’t. And our Shepherd knows exactly what to do in each of those situations.

IN DEED

As a Kingdom citizen, you are a sheep at heart. That isn’t the highest image of you, as we will see in the coming days, but it’s a true one. This is a relationship of absolute dependence; you depend entirely on His resources and not on your own. You can’t embrace that image without a lot of humility, but when you do, it’s quite a relief. He isn’t waiting for you to figure things out. He’s waiting for you to follow Him through them.

ADDITIONAL READING: Psalm 23

The more we depend on God, the more dependable we find He is.

ANONYMOUS