I have been reflecting on sheep and their need for a shepherd.
Sheep need a good shepherd to lead them and care for them; Jesus is our shepherd -- the only Good Shepherd. Let's face it, sheep are kind of dumb...And as much as a shepherd will go after a wandering sheep, Jesus, too, goes after his wayward children. Shepherds of old would oftentimes break a sheep's legs when it was prone to wandering, which essentially put the sheep's life in danger. While the sheep is healing, it is completely dependent on the shepherd for everything. A deep bond is forged and when the sheep regains its mobility, it no longer has wanderlust but ultimately follows the shepherd whom it trusts unconditionally. So when you see pictures of Jesus portrayed as the Shepherd with a sheep around his shoulders, it, to me anyway, reflects the great love of the Savior that carries the broken - carries you and me.
In the same way, I think that God will break us for our own good when we are incapable of making sound choices, or are behaving like a rebellious sheep. David, lamenting during the aftermath of his adultery cries out, "Let the bones you have crushed [broken] rejoice" Psalm 51:8b. Make no mistake about it: God will break us in the areas that need to be submitted to him. Margaret Feinberg, in her book the organic God, says:
God manages to remind me that no matter what I have done or left undone, I am still his. He has created me and redeemed me and summons me to himself. No matter where I go, no matter what I pass through -- whatever elements of this world I'm exposed to -- his protection is secure. He is Lord. He is God. He is Holy. He is Savior. In my brokenness, imperfection, and sin, he whispers three holy words:
You are mine.
I. am. His. Nothing I can, or ever will do, can cause his love to be removed from me (Romans 8:38 - 39). My favorite Minor Prophet is probably Hosea (Please read it for yourselves; the following is an extremely brief synopsis). It is such a lovely and thorough picture of the depths of God's love for his children and his desire to redeem lives from the pit. Hosea takes a wife, Gomer, who is an adulteress, a prostitute, a harlot, a dirty whore. They have a son, Jezreel, whose name is a warning against Israel. Then Gomer has two illegitimate children: a daughter, whose name means "no mercy" or "she who never knew a father's love," and a son, whose name means "not my people." {ouch.}
Gomer leaves Hosea, but God commands him to go after her. He pays a ransom for her (sound familiar?). God's anger is mighty against a nation that has repeatedly turned their backs on him, but he couldn't write them off! His ultimate desire was to turn their Valley of Achor (translation: trouble) into a door of hope. The same is true for us today. No matter how many times we have whored ourselves out to other things, the God of unending grace and mercy desires to continually restore us and show us the way back to him, even if it takes a few {or many} broken bones.
This brings us full circle again to David and one of my favorite Psalms. May we never forget what the Lord has done for us! We are forever His.
Psalm 103
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
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