Following the Good ShepherdThe kind of life David describes in Psalm 23:1-6 is one bathed is shalom, or "peace," which proceeds from understanding that Yahweh, the Lord, is a shepherd and hence a provider, protector, teacher, and loving host. The shepherd is one of the oldest and most enduring of Hebrew metaphors (Gen. 49:25; Psalm 77:20; Psalm 80:1-2; Psalm 95:7). What David understood and experienced was the reality of knowing a loving, attentive, present, powerful, and purposeful guide for his life. Our greatest assurance and soul-filling hope is that the Lord, Yahweh, is our shepherd. It is because of this simple, yet endlessly profound reality that we can begin to understand our place in the world and the joy that is ours forever. The shepherd's vocation is largely lost on us today. There is an intimacy in shepherding. Shepherds know their sheep because they are with them all day, every day, for weeks on end, in solitary places. They learn the actions, habits, and preferences of their flock through constant oversight. They protect, feed, direct, and correct the sheep continually, developing a bond, perhaps even a love of their flock. Jesus says, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11), something that David knew was part of his responsibilities as well. As a result, the sheep respond and are benefited. Without a shepherd they are lost, in danger, and unable to endure the realities of the wild. To think of the Lord as a shepherd is to come to understand the intensely personal, comforting, attentive, and providing nature of God's love and care for his flock of humanity. From The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God's Kingdom on Earth. Copyright © 2014 by Dallas Willard amd Gary Black Jr. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. |
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