The Good Shepherd

You may have seen this picture it is one I made up a while ago to illustrate the 23^rd Psalm. I want to share it with you again because I feel it clearly shows the relationship Jesus wants to have with us. The other day I was talking to a lady, who was very worried so I quoted the 23^rd Psalm to her, it is probably the best known psalm in the bible and is very reassuring. It was written by David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. David had proven himself to be a “Good Shepherd” as he had protected his flock of sheep from a lion and a bear, risking his own life to do so. God was impressed by David and had him anointed as King of Israel and he was arguably the greatest king that there has ever been.

Jesus described himself as the good shepherd and then went on to say that a good shepherd knows his sheep and is prepared to defend them against any danger (Like those two evil characters lurking, in the picture, on the left) and then likens us to sheep needing a shepherd for guidance and protection too because there are also lots of evil situations and temptations surrounding us all the time.

The 23^rd Psalm describes our relationship with Jesus very clearly and is worth memorising because of that, as it says: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside  still waters, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake; yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over; surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. Obviously though, in order to qualify for that protection and guidance mentioned above we must allow ourselves to become part of the shepherd’s flock.

In the picture above, that little sheep being guided by Jesus is you if you wish to take its place. Of course you may have already done so. However if you have not done so, let me assure you that you are eligible because Peter said, in his 2^nd letter Chapter 3 verse 9 that “The Lord is.....not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” It is therefore simply a matter of telling God, in prayer, that you request His forgiveness, in Jesus name, and that in future you want to “walk” the way He has outlined in the New Testament. Having done that, you have repented and, in effect, placed your hand in His (like the little sheep in the picture).  So He now becomes your shepherd and really seeing that Jesus knows the future and what is best for us we would be foolish to turn down His offer of guiding protection, wouldn’t we? After all, as we see in this second picture the sheep trust their shepherd who just happens to be my wife. Nowhere in the psalms or anywhere else is there a guarantee that the sheep won’t have troubles because they will; they will be attacked by lice, blowflies, worms or foot rot but that is where the Shepherd comes in; “he will be with them in trouble and deliver them”. (Psalm 91:15). And when we have problems, no matter what they are, we too can claim that promise.

There is a very nice song based on the 23^rd psalm that fits this picture, it goes like this: “In God’s green pastures feeding, by the still waters lie. Soft in the evening walk my Lord and I; Oh the sheep of His pasture fare so wondrously fine, His sheep am I. Waters cool, in the valley, pastures green, on the mountain, step by step, step by step, walk my Lord and I.”

Best wishes, Tom.