John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays
down His life for the sheep.
When
our Lord calls himself the good shepherd, is he using a title which has lost
its value since he has ceased to live visibly upon the earth? This title has a
true meaning for Christians, and an attractive power which is all its own. To
enter into the full force of this image, we must know something really of
ourselves, and something really of our savior.
1.
As
the good shepherd, he knows his sheep
He
knows us individually, not merely as we seem to be, but as we are. It is
because he thus knows us that he is able to help, guide and feed us.
2.
He
has a perfect sympathy with each
He
is not a hard guardian, without any sort of feeling for our individual
difficulties, yet their sympathy is guided by perfect prudence. The Good
shepherd has proportioned our duties, our trials, and our advantages, our
drawbacks, to our real needs, capacities and character.
3.
He
is disinterested above all, as the Good Shepherd herd
He
seeks not ours, but us. He gains nothing by watching, guiding, feeding such as
us. He gave his life for the sheep. He gave it once for all over nineteen
centuries ago; but his death is just as powerful to deliver us from the onset
of the wolf as then. Self sacrifice such as that one Calvary does not lose its
virtue by the lapse of years.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment