Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer from Psalm 80:1-3:
Good Shepherd,
You lead us as Your flock.
You sit enthroned in glory.
Shine Your light on me;
Awaken Your might and save me;
Restore me, O God;
and make Your face shine on me,
that I may be saved.
Amen.
Reading
Today’s reading shows us how deeply Jesus cares for us, and it calls us to emulate Him in our care for one another.
Jesus cares for us so deeply that He laid down His life for us. The rest of the New Testament confirms that He sacrificed Himself to save us from the curse of sin and death. This self-sacrifice was completely in keeping with His nature as the Good Shepherd. After all, we’ve already seen how deeply connected a shepherd and his sheep were in the ancient Middle East, and it was not uncommon for a shepherd to risk his life to protect his sheep. Think of David who said in 1 Samuel 17:34-35,
‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.’
This is how Jesus relates to us.
By contrast, He also spoke of shepherds who had no such care for the sheep. For them, this was merely a way to earn a living. The true indicator of their hearts was that when danger came, they chose self-preservation over the flock.
Here is our challenge for today. We are not all Christian leaders or “under shepherds” who serve Jesus by caring for the flock in some sort of “official” capacity, so Jesus’ words are not necessarily directly relevant to us. But, each of us is called to be in relationships of deep compassion and care towards the fellow “sheep” in our flock; i.e., the Christians with whom we are in fellowship. When they are going through difficulties, we are called to come alongside them and be a source of protection, compassion, encouragement and care. We are not to run away from the difficulties others face, but to stand with them to help them get through their challenges.
The calling to love and care for the “flock” is certainly central to Christian leadership. It’s also relevant to every Christian. May we be found to faithful to this calling today!
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn this declaration over and over in your mind. Keep it in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will care for my fellow believers and look out for their interests and wellbeing.
Lord Jesus, please impart to me the same love and compassion You have for my fellow believers. Empower me to look out for their interests and wellbeing, and so to be pleasing to You. Amen.
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