Skip to main content

The Real Shepherd



            Sometimes what a verse does not say is just as important as what it does say.  Take 1 Peter 2:25 for example.  It says, “For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls”.  In context, the “shepherd and overseer” to whom they have returned is Jesus, or, more broadly, God.  That is important, but so also is what Peter does not say.
            For instance, he does not say that the lost sheep were returned to a certain preacher or teacher.  Unfortunately, that sometimes happens.  People go to a certain church because they like the leader, but when he leaves, so do the people.  Sometimes people are so devoted to a certain author that they quote him as if they were quoting the very word of God.  This, however, is a problem.  When people in the church in Corinth started aligning themselves with certain teachers (Paul, Peter or Apollos - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17), Paul was horrified!  We are never to be followers of people.  The only real shepherd is God!
            Another mistake people make is to become a follower of the Bible.  How can that be a bad thing?  Well, let me put it this way.  Suppose I have the owner’s manual from a 2014 GMC truck.  From that manual, I can learn all sorts of things like what size the tires are, what coolant it uses and even what windshield wipers it is supposed to have.  However, if I want to go from Estevan to Vancouver, I am going to need the truck, not the book about the truck. Similarly, we can read a lot about God without actually knowing God and that is not good enough. 
            Sometimes people act as if the church is the shepherd.  They think that if they worship with the right group then they must be ok.  However, in Matthew 7:15-23, Jesus says “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”.  He goes on to say that even though some of them will do great things like preaching and healing, they will be left out because Jesus does not know them.  The truth is that you can do Godly things and not really be a Godly person.  As the old saying goes, “Sitting in the chicken coup doesn’t make you a chicken”. 
            Now, do not hear me saying that Christian people, the Bible or the church are unimportant!  They are supremely important!  In fact, I would argue that you cannot be a Christian without them.  However, they are the means, not the goal! 
            Knowing the real shepherd is the goal.
            Do not settle for anything less.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dark and Light

            When you look out at the world, what do you see?             Some see nothing but trouble and pain.   They point to things like poverty, crime, problems with drugs and alcohol and marriage break-ups and say that the world is full of sadness and sorrow.   Watch the news for even a half hour and you will get the idea that the world is a dark place.             Others see nothing but good.   They appreciate generous people in their community.   They think about their friends and neighbours and smile.   They marvel at the beauty of sunrises and stars at night.   To them, the world is a bright and wonderful place.             You may be surprised that the Bible supports both of these world views.   On one hand it says things like, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
1 comment
Read more

New Article: Five Words to Improve Your Relationships

                 In the late 1800s, it was common for railway companies to plant formal gardens beside their stations.   These gardens were filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit trees.   Sometimes they also featured a kitchen garden growing lettuce, carrots, corn, and potatoes.   Estevan’s Canadian Pacific Railway Garden was once located where Mid-City Plumbing and Heating is today.                The purpose of these gardens was to show what the land could produce.   After hours and sometimes days of riding across the featureless prairies, the railways wanted to show settlers the potential of their new home.   The gardens showed what was possible and they encouraged the settlers to transform their own land and discover its potential too.                Today’s verse acts similarly, in that it challenges us to find the potential in
Post a Comment
Read more

Forgetting What Is Behind

                   Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule.                  Here is my generalization:   It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on.   The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.   We remember and nurse old hurts.   We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.   In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.   In these cases, we would be better off “forgett
Post a Comment
Read more