Affection For Sheep

Affection for Sheep

I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.

Ezekiel 34:15-16

IN WORD The heart of the Shepherd is a deep mystery. Why would someone choose such a thankless job for such oblivious creatures? For most shepherds, the task falls on them as an obligation, not a career choice. But our Shepherd relishes the position. He expects something more than a family income from His flock—something much, much more—so the tedium isn’t all that tedious to Him. A passionate heart will endure an awful lot in order to obtain the object of its affection.

That’s how our Shepherd views His flock, both as a whole and as individual sheep. We are, according to Scripture, the object of His affection. We can wonder what would draw Him to such mangy creatures and argue that we’re not worthy, but that doesn’t change what He has declared of Himself. He’s a Shepherd who loves His job, and He loves it because of His affection for the sheep in His flock.

This is one of the hardest truths for Christians to grasp. For all our talk about God’s love, we don’t really understand it—or believe it. We dissect the Greek words for love and come up with a sterile sort of agape—selfless love—that feels more like an obligation on God’s part rather than a delight. But God doesn’t define agape that way, and He doesn’t portray His love as obligatory. He delights in His sheep. Treasures them. Adores them. Swells with torrential passion over them.

IN DEED Don’t believe it? He makes it clear in other prophetic images, like His self-portrait as a Husband, for example. Consider this: repeated calls for love over the course of several millennia and through a vast spectrum of hardships do not come from a dispassionate heart. And yet our Bible is a veritable love song from beginning to end. Know that love. Embrace it. Never, ever doubt it again.

The person you are now, the person you have been, the person you will be—this person God has chosen as beloved.

—WILLIAM COUNTRYMAN