“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” Psalms‬ ‭23:1‬

We tend to focus on the love and caring of the Good Shepherd, and why not? Jesus refers to himself as a good shepherd and contrasts that with the way an evil shepherd is. David was one of a long line of shepherds in the Old Testament. God seems to have a soft spot in his heart for shepherds.

Many of us have ingrained in our minds the Sunday School pictures of the good shepherd carrying a lamb on his shoulders or rescuing a lamb from a life-threatening situation, and we feel good knowing we are loved, cared for and protected by our shepherd.

But the elephant in the corner, you know it, the huge issue no one really wants to think about is that one does not need a shepherd unless one is a sheep! Sheep are dependent on a shepherd because, as one farmer told me, “they are just so dumb”! They can’t care for themselves. Completely dependent. Completely ignorant. Dumb.

We don’t want to be sheep, but unless we become sheep-like we won’t be able to take full advantage of a loving, caring, powerful, wise shepherd.

Be a sheep.