March 5
Bible Reading: John 10:8-18
John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd.”
The Bible often compares humans to sheep. There’s good reason for that, as sheep are notoriously not-so-smart and needful of someone to lead and watch over them. Jesus is the Good Shepherd: good by nature and altogether trustworthy in taking care of us. But we are born into this world with a sinful independence that works to set and keep us astray. Heaven rejoices when any lost sheep is returned to its Master (Luke 15:7).
Shirley was my neighbor, though I didn’t know her. Then she was our hospice patient. Then she became my good friend. She was one of the most remarkable women I’ve known. She died last year, after twenty months in hospice, ample opportunity for me to get to know and appreciate her.
A Facebook post summarized her passing this way: “Morrow County lost a legendary sheep, cattle, horsewoman when Shirley died at the age of 94.” She loved animals. But she wasn’t so fond of people. We talked about that once and agreed that sheep are “dumb but docile, whereas people are dumb and hostile,” though I added the caveat that people are not always that way. She was a sheep rancher for many years, overseeing the Basque under-shepherds she employed. They soon realized she was as tough as any of them.
She lived life on her terms. But then she became a hospice patient. And then there was a need for a transition. The fiercely independent, “I don’t need anyone,” former sheep-rancher-now-hospice-patient, needed to realize her own need of a shepherd. Over the course of those twenty months, Shirley and I and her daughter, Jill, talked about many things, but mostly about Jesus.
I often read Scripture to her, gravitating towards John 10 and Psalm 23. We’d sing hymns. I talked to her about the Good Shepherd in whom she could trust for her salvation. She once remarked that she hoped that she’d make it to heaven. I explained to her how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gave His life so that she could have complete forgiveness and have the assurance of a heavenly home when the time comes. And I witnessed her transition, from that fiercely independent woman, dependent on no one, to one who came to trust in the only One who could impart to her eternal life. For many years, she’d watched over her sheep, but then Jesus called and made her one of His own. We all have desperate need of Jesus; the only question is to what extent we realize that. In Jesus, we have a Good Shepherd who cares and can take care of us in every way (1 Peter 2:25).
“What would become of some people if they were always in good health, or if they were always prospering? But tribulation is the black dog that goes after the stray sheep and barks them back to the Good Shepherd.”—Charles Spurgeon.
SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD LEAD US
Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
We are Thine, do Thou befriend us,
Be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow’r to free:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee.
Early let us seek Thy favor,
Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior,
With Thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still.
LookingtoJesus 