The good shepherd

God is ...

                    … the good shepherd

 

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.

READ - John 10:11-18

I know that it is wrong to disagree with Jesus, but…. I am not sure how good a shepherd he would be. To keep the analogy going, that we are the sheep, I know that he cares for and loves each individual sheep. He dotes on me and adores me, he knows every hair on my head and knew me before I was even formed in my mother’s womb - and the same goes for each and every one of us. I know from scripture and from experience that he laid down his life for me personally, for my sin and my sake. And he would probably do it all over again - just for me. And for you. And that makes him a bit of a bad shepherd, because he would give up his life for one sheep yet at the same time there are a lot more sheep in the flock. In terms of the parable of the lost sheep, there are the other 99 sheep that he leaves alone, if you were one of those sheep you would have to think "bad shepherd". 

But his thoughts are not my thoughts and his ways are not my ways - he has a far greater plan than I could ever imagine. When we drill deep down into it, the parable of the good shepherd speaks of the power and the omnipotence of God. Christ is the shepherd that can look for, and look after, an individual sheep whilst at the same time caring for the 99 others. When he went off for three days to do battle he had a master plan, he left his Spirit behind and if I were a sheep facing a wolf with the Holy Spirit on my side, I’d be a happy sheep. As Jesus alludes to in the passage, he doesn’t leave the hired help behind, he leaves a bit of himself as only God in man can. 

Christ is also the Good shepherd because of the price he paid. In the passage he speaks of laying his life down for his sheep and there is nothing more precious than life. Nearly all of us would give it all up for our life: house, material possessions, money, even my iPad(!) would all go by the wayside if it was a choice between them and my life. Our lives are the most precious thing that we have, something that cannot carry a price tag. We talk of the sanctity of life, which the dictionary either defines as sacred or inviolable. It is the most precious of gifts and yet it is what the good shepherd gives up for the sheep. “Greater love has no-one than this, that they give up their life for their friends”. 

I may have started with a bad shepherd, but this shepherd had a plan that involved his life, something that I would struggle to give up. So not a bad shepherd after all, a very good shepherd that reminds us that God has all the bases covered, even the base that asked for the ultimate sacrifice. 

When did you last think of how much Christ loves you, as an individual sheep?

What does 'the sanctity of life' mean for you? What does it mean that Christ gave his up?