Think about it…all the days of your life, dwelling together, and in the care of your great Shepherd.
Or, is the Lord your great Shepherd?
Who could walk away from goodness and mercy and life with Christ forever, and yet, many do walk away. Peter certainly did – not just once, but three times he denied even knowing Jesus – someone who had walked daily beside his master. The beautiful passage in John 21 takes new meaning in our final thoughts of sheep and shepherds. The entire chapter is rich in restoration.
Who could walk away from goodness and mercy and life with Christ forever, and yet, many do walk away. Peter certainly did – not just once, but three times he denied even knowing Jesus – someone who had walked daily beside his master. The beautiful passage in John 21 takes new meaning in our final thoughts of sheep and shepherds. The entire chapter is rich in restoration.
Three times Jesus refers to us as sheep when he asks Peter three times if he loves him.
“Do you truly love me? Do you really love Jesus? Are you even his friend?”
After answering yes, Jesus instructs Peter,
“Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, and feed my sheep.”
I am followed by goodness and mercy even when, like Peter, I am tempted to bolt and run away from his care. But for “goodness and mercy” to follow us throughout life, we must follow the Shepherd (like Peter learned). Sometimes following is hard—especially when we’re hurting. It’s easy to say, “God, I followed you. I obeyed you. So why did you allow our lives to be shattered?”
As we close our few days of immersing ourselves in Psalm 23, I probably will never think of this passage in the same way. While I always thought of it as a comforting psalm, now I know it as a psalm about life at its fullest. Life in luscious pastures and life in dark and scary valleys. Life with cooling water and life surrounded by enemies. Life of restoration and life of anointing. The cup of sorrow ....the cup of joy. The final verse of this beautiful Psalm creates an image of going home with the shepherd to the safety of the fold after a day of grazing in the pasture—a day filled with problems and enemies, annoyances and sorrows, yet surrounded with comfort and peace.
I feel that way today - even in the midst of this pandemic. I hope you do too.
I feel that way today - even in the midst of this pandemic. I hope you do too.
The Lord is the giver of all life. Our Lord, our Shepherd, who we walk with these final weeks of Lent, came to bring life and life abundantly to us. And now, we have work to do.
Who will take care of His sheep?
Who will take care of His sheep?
Oh, Lord, must you ask me three times if I love you?
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