WE ARE SHEPHERDS

In John 10:11, Jesus called Himself the good shepherd. Paul tells us in Romans 8:29 that we are to be conformed to the image of His Son. We usually think of ourselves as being the sheep, but in a sense we also are shepherds. As shepherds, we should:

 

Know That We Are Responsible For One Another.
No man is an island. “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself” (Romans 14:7). All of us are Christians because someone cared enough to share the gospel with us. They realized they had a responsibility for others. They helped us become sheep in His pasture. Without them, where would we be? Also, how many of us have faced difficult times and perhaps even been on the verge of quitting, only to have a caring Christian to encourage and strengthen us? I believe this is one reason God designed the church, for the love, encouragement and support we can give to and receive from one another. In order to do that, we must get to know one another more than a few hours a week.

 

Seek, Serve And Save The Lost.
We are not to be passive, but to actively pursue the lost and the straying. Far too often, we sit in our comfortable buildings and wait for the lost to come in. Two-thirds of God is Go. He is a God of the chase. He pursues us. As shepherds, we are commissioned to GO into all the world. Every person we reach represents one more soul rescued from servitude to sin and the resulting death.

 

Exit Our Comfort Zones.
Becoming a shepherd means that we must sacrificially give ourselves to helping the strays find their way home, back to God. As shepherds we are to shoulder and carry them, if need be. We are comfortable talking politics, sports, and weather, but become uncomfortable if the conversation turns to spiritual matters. We are uncomfortable confronting someone who is lost and needs to turn to God for salvation; therefore, we just avoid the subject. What good are we doing them, or ourselves?

 

Plan For Future Sheep.
We must not allow our focus to turn inward toward self. We must not be consumed by issues, traditions and personal preferences to the point that we lose sight of the real work of a shepherd, which is laying down his life for the sheep! No, not dying for them - but caring, protecting, leading them and living Jesus before them. Perhaps you have heard “If you fail to plan, the plan to fail.” We need to set goals and then decide how to best reach those goals, both as individuals and as a congregation.

 

What kind of shepherd are you?

--Lamar