I love teaching 2’s and 3’s in Bible class. Usually I have about 3 students on Wednesday nights but a few weeks ago I had the rare opportunity of teaching a student one on one. These are golden moments for a teacher. It is a chance to build a stronger bond with her student. She is able to tailor her class specifically to that one child. This was a very special night for me.
Our lesson was “God is Our Shepherd.” It centered on the fact that God both cares FOR us and takes care OF us. Many scriptures compare God’s people to sheep. The Lord is our Good Shepherd. Psalm 23 is perhaps the most well known chapter in the Bible. The figurative language used in this chapter is indeed very beautiful.
Pre-school children think in more concrete terms. They usually can’t grasp the ideas behind symbolic language. Simple comparisons are easier. Visual aids help, too. I had a coloring page of a shepherd caring for sheep in a field. As we both began to color, I talked about how the shepherd was good to the sheep. I explained that he made sure they had food to eat and good water to drink.
My student seemed to understand the sheep needed someone to care for them. We talked a little more about how good the shepherd was to the sheep. Finally I said, “God is our shepherd. He takes care of us.” Heath smiled sweetly and said, “But we’re not sheep.” He was thinking in a literal sense.
Of course, he is right. We are not sheep. God created animals and then He created man. We know He knows the difference. Yet as Christians, we realize just how much we need God’s care. As adults we understand the significance of the metaphor. Learning more about this illustration can lead us into a beautiful relationship with our God.
Psalm 78:52 tells us “God led out His people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.” (ESV) Remember the exodus from Egypt? God did lead His people out like sheep. He cared for them in the wilderness. Over and over they tested Him. They rebelled against Him. They were afraid to take the Promised Land. They wanted to turn their back on all God did for them and go back to Egypt.
Yet God still cared for them. He made sure they had food and water. Their clothes and shoes didn’t wear out. He showed His presence among with the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Think of the great number of people there were. God truly did “guide them like a flock.”
Shepherds take the business of caring for their sheep very seriously. In that same manner, God cares for us so much! We are precious to Him. Sometimes that seems difficult to understand. Yet, it is the truth. Consider Psalm 95:7a “For he is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” Have you ever held in your hands someone you love dearly? Imagine God loving you that much! God – our perfect loving Heavenly Father – longs for you to be one of His own. He longs to hold you in His hands. If we are willing to follow Him, He will make sure He cares for us and that is a wonderful comfort! Psalm 100:3 “Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are his people, the sheep of His pasture.” We belong to Him.
God Himself tells us in Ezekiel 34:31 “And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.” Yes little Heath, we are human sheep and God is the one and only living God. The shepherd protects his sheep against all sorts of dangers. Our God will protect us if we choose to serve Him. We must learn to follow Him wherever He leads us. This is how we gain His protection.
How do we know where He leads us? God no longer gives us a cloud to follow during the day or a pillar of fire at night. In this day and time, the only way to follow God’s direction is by studying the Bible. We cannot take this lightly. It is what we must do to know the voice of the Good Shepherd. We mustn’t trust or depend on our preachers or Sunday school teachers. Oh yes, they are great helps and we can learn from others. However, it is our responsibility to know what the scriptures tell us.
One of my Dad’s favorite verses is II Timothy 2:15 – “Study to show thyself approved unto to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.” (KJV) The New King James Version says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We must study and learn the scriptures for ourselves rightly dividing the word of truth.
We can’t change or twist the scriptures. We can’t leave something out just because we don’t like the sound of it. If we want to be approved to God we must be careful with His word. Studying the word of God is vital in getting to know the Shepherd and following Him. Following the shepherd is the only way to gain entrance into the sheepfold, the family of God.
No, little Heath we aren’t sheep. We are human sheep. As Christians God is our shepherd. When we choose to follow Him, He will lead us into the best places. He will take us home with Him someday.
Matthew 25:32-34:
“Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Yes, I think I want to be a sheep.
Christ above all things,
Robin
