THE CHILDREN'S SHEPHERD

The sight of sheep following their shepherd may still be often seen in the East. Also it has been frequently tested and proved that in such cases each sheep has a name and knows the shepherd's voice. Sheep have always been much valued and were usually mentioned first in connection with wealth in the time of the patriarchs. All this is very suggestive of the relation between the Lord Jesus and those whom He calls "My sheep". Our value to Him is shown in the fact that, as the good Shepherd, He laid down His life for us so that we should have life abundantly. Christians form one flock; some of them are Jewish believers and others are from the various nations of the world all belonging to one Shepherd. The flock is thus on of the great 'unities' of Christianity. We know Jesus as the great Shepherd raised from the dead by the God of peace, and wise and strong enough for every need even if we should stray!

At the coming again of Jesus He will, as the chief Shepherd, honour everyone who has cared for His sheep during His absence. The apostle Peter was one such who, besides being made a fisher of men, was made a shepherd of men too. When Jesus told Peter how he should prove his love for his Master the first word of direction was "Feed my lambs". We can see from this how the Lord was concerned that children, like the lambs of the flocks, should be cared for. Peter's first epistle mentions the "pure mental milk of the word" as being necessary for growth. Many country children have reared little lambs by bottle-feeding in cases where otherwise they might have been left to die. The lambs and those who feed them become very fond of one another as we would expect.

You will have read that when Jacob and his family went down into Egypt during the famine they took with them all their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. To the Egyptians however every shepherd was "an abomination". It was not so much that they detested sheep, but having had to submit for many years to the harsh rule of so-called 'shepherd kings' - foreigners from Syria - they hated the idea of a shepherd. God turned all this to account for good as He is able to do for us when we are doing His will. The people were allowed to settle in the good land of Goshen where is the delta of the river Nile and no doubt plenty of water for the sheep and the pasture. Do you enjoy the safety, satisfaction and serenity of being in the flock of Jesus?

J.C.Evershed

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