Called By Name: Good Shepherding

Like many of you, I am still trying to wrap my mind around what we saw yesterday in the news and on social media. Each of us has his or her own experience to recount -- how we saw the events that transpired yesterday, and we each have a slightly different perspective. The core of the matter is -- there was a struggle. 

That struggle is the manifestation of a much deeper problem, and that problem is sin. 

What happened yesterday was the result of a lot of people who dove deeper and deeper into the epicenter of their thoughts, information, and theories until they'd formulated a worldview, and that worldview clashed with other people who had done the same... but with different results. I say they; I mean this is true of all of us. Each of us have a worldview shaped by external influences and stimuli. And the fact that most of us were scrolling down our newsfeed from the comfort of our living room couches yesterday rather than engaging in riotous conflict in the nation's capital is just semantics.

I condemn the violence I saw yesterday, yes, absolutely. But the root of that violence is the sin in our hearts, and until and unless we crucify that sin to the cross where Jesus died for us, until we turn our attention away from the right side or the left side, until we move past Democrat or Republican or Independent, until we look at the kingdom not of this world... it will happen again. Same battle, different day, different setting.

Our Shepherd calls us out of darkness and into His light. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). When Peter talks about a holy nation, he's not talking about Israel, or about the U.S.A., or about any other nation with boundaries and passport requirements. He's talking about those who turn away from sin and focus on the Shepherd --those who follow Him, because they know Him.

The warfare that happened yesterday is spiritual warfare, and it isn't encapsulated in a day's time. That war is centered around the clash between the dark forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12) and the armies of heaven. It began in the Garden of Eden the moment the serpent tempted Eve to take a bite of the forbidden fruit, and it will end on the last day when the Lord casts Satan into the lake of fire. It is a war that has been with us since the very beginning and will be with us until the end.

The end result of this struggle will be victory: "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10), and the forces of heaven are impossible to beat: "The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands and thousands," (Psalm 68:17), "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand" (Revelation 5:11), and "Then the Lord opened [the servant's] eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).

This morning, I returned to my read-through of John. I'm in John 10:1-21, where Jesus uses the metaphor of the relationship between a flock of sheep and its shepherd to make a couple of solid points.

1.) We are sheep. Yep, all of us. I know that by today's standards, being called a sheep is supposed to be an insult. It intimates "following blindly" or "following the crowd." Isn't it interesting, then, that John 10:3-5 says that the Shepherd of the flock "calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him, because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him, because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

The sheep in a shepherd's flock know their shepherd, and they follow him. He calls them by name. "Petey! Monica! Wilfred! Let's go!" And Petey, Monica, and Wilfred hear the call and the Voice Who calls it, and they come running. 

It is only when the sheep don't know the voice of the person leading them that they run away. "We all like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus, when He died on the cross) the iniquity (the sins) of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). Do we know this? Truly know it? If we do, we know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and we follow Him.

2.) That brings us to the shepherds. There is one Good Shepherd: "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Jesus demonstrates this when He fulfills His purpose on earth by laying down His life on the cross, conquering death, and rising again three days later. 

While there is one Good Shepherd, there are many shepherds: pastors, lay leaders, etc. To each of these people is given the responsibility to care for a flock, and what an awesome responsibility, one that is to be treated with the utmost care: "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). Ouch. Lord, let us be faithful to lead according to Your Word, according to the Truth!

John 10:12-13 describes the false teachers, the false shepherds, as hired hands in the extended metaphor Jesus uses. "The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."

One of Jesus' ancestors was a shepherd before he became a very famous king. David says of the Good Shepherd: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want."

The Good Shepherd provides for every need His flock has.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake."

If the Good Shepherd were to lead His flock beside rushing waters, and the sheep try to drink from the rapids, the water will swiftly soak their fleece, weigh them down, cause them to stumble, and then drown. The Good Shepherd knows that the quiet waters are where restoration happens, where thirst is quenched. 

Sometimes, willful sheep want to wander away, looking beyond the pasture, exploring beyond the safety net. The Good Shepherd makes His flock lie down. Sometimes, it feels harsh. Sometimes, it feels like discipline. But the green pastures are where He meets the needs of His flock. 

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

That rod and staff are not instruments of comfort, yet they bring comfort. They aren't used to pat the sheep on the head or smooth through their fleece. The rod is a defensive weapon used to fight off the wild animals that come to attack the sheep. The staff is a long stick with a hook at the end that can wrap around a sheep's neck and pull it back from cliff edges and dangerous drop-offs if the sheep is too far from the Shepherd's arms. 

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23).

This is the euphoric picture of the ultimate relationship of a flock with its Shepherd, people with their Savior, the taken-care-of with the Caretaker. A feast, a banquet, overflowing blessing, goodness, and love, and an eternity in heaven for the One in Whom we have put our trust.

When the Shepherd calls your name, even if it's not Petey, Monica, or Wilfred... do you know His voice? Do you come running?