-JESUS: The Shepherd Who Cares
for Us and Guides Us --
By: Max Lucado

Aren't we glad Christ didn't call Himself the Good Cowboy? But some do perceive God that way. A hardfaced, square-jawed ranch-hand from heaven who drives His church against its will to places it doesn't want to go.

But that's a wrong image. Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd who knows His sheep by name and lays down His life for them. The Shepherd who protects, provides, and possesses His sheep. The Bible is replete with this picture of God...

Eighty percent of Jesus' listeners made their living off of the land. Many were shepherds. They lived on the mesa with sheep. No flock ever grazed without a shepherd, and no shepherd was ever off duty. When sheep wandered, the shepherd, found them. When they fell, he carried them. When they were hurt, he healed them.

Sheep aren't smart. They tend to wander into running creeks for water, then their wool grows heavy and they drown. They need a shepherd to lead them to "still waters" (Psalm 23:2). They have no natural defense--no claws, no horns no fangs. They are helpless. Sheep need a shepherd with a "rod and ...staff" (Psalm 23:4) to protect them. They have no sense of direction. They need someone to lead them on "paths of righteouness" (Psalm 23:3).

So do we. We,too, tend to be swept away by waters we should have avoided. We have no defense against the evil lion who prowls about seeking who he might devour. We, too, get lost. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6).

We need a shepherd. We don't need a cowboy to herd us.
We need The Shepherd, Jesus, to care for us and to guide us.

And we have One. One who knows us by name.~ ~
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From: "Traveling Light", by Max Lucado