Abundant Life for Your Children

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For several years, our daughter’s husband raised Katahdin sheep. Katahdin sheep have hair instead of wool and are raised for meat. On a recent Sunday morning, Ray spoke about the parable of the Good Shepherd. When I sat down to write to you for today, finding pictures of sheep was easy.

In the beloved Psalm 23, David the shepherd king compares himself to sheep.

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
Psalm 23:1-2

Jesus compared people to sheep in the parable of the Good Shepherd. I love how this picture illustrates their dependency and ours.

As David said in Psalm 145:

The Lord sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Psalm 145:14-16

One by one, in your mind’s eye, replace each of those sheep with yourself and people you know. All of you are looking to God for what you need.

In John 10, Jesus contrasts the Good Shepherd who lovingly cares for the sheep with Satan who is a thief. Jesus said:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I came that they may have life,
and have it abundantly.
John 10:10

When Ray preached on John 10 recently, he made the implications of this very plain, saying that:

Both the Good Shepherd and the thief are after us, and one will get us. “The thief wants to get you,” he said. “The Good Shepherd wants to die for you.”

I’d like to bring that home with another truth. The thief wants to get your children, too. So does the Good Shepherd. Our job is to make the warning clear and to introduce them to the Good Shepherd—the best lesson and the best introduction they will ever hear from you.

Jesus said:

“I am the good shepherd;
the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 10:11

 

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