SHEEP AND SHEPHERD - Part 2

“The Lord is my shepherd.” (Psalm 23:1)

Couldn’t David have thought of a better metaphor? Surely he could have. After all, he outran Saul and outgunned Goliath. Why didn’t he choose something other than sheep? How about…

“The Lord is my commander in chief, and I am His warrior.” There. We like that better. A warrior gets a uniform and a weapon, maybe even a metal.

Or, “The Lord is my inspiration, and I am His singer.” We are in God’s choir; what a flattering assignment.

Or, “The Lord is my king, and I am His ambassador.” Who wouldn’t like to be a spokesperson for God?

Everyone stops when the ambassador speaks. Everyone listens when God’s minstrel sings. Everyone applauds when God’s warrior passes.

But who notices when God’s sheep show up? Who notices when the sheep sing or speak or act? Only one person notices. The shepherd. And that is precisely David’s point.

When David, who was a warrior, minstrel, and ambassador for God, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep day and night. How he slept with them and watched over them.

And the way he cared for the sheep reminded him of the way God cares for us. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and in so doing he proudly implied, “I am His sheep.” 

-- Max Lucado in “Traveling Light: The Promise of Psalm 23”

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