MORE ABOUT THE SHEPHERD METAPHOR.
JACOB: GOD ACCEPTS US
The patriach Jacob was a shepherd and the first person in the Bible to make use of the shepherd metaphor for God.
Jacob was born with a difficult disposition. Gripping his twin brother's heel at birth, he continued throughout his life to try to trip him up and get ahead of him. Jacob's whole life was characterized by wheeling, double-dealing, grasping, grabbing, and jerking people around to gain selfish advantage.
Jacob is reminiscent of those who come into life with a pervasive tendency to go wrong. They are addicted to food, sex, alcohol, drugs, spending, gambling, or working. They have disturbed and difficult personalities, and have a "hard machine to drive."
God knows our tiresome stories. He understands the latent forces and all the sources and possibilities of evil in our natures. He sees the hurt and the heartbreak that others cannot see. He's aware of the reasons for our moodiness, our temper tantrums, our selfish indulgences. God never turns away. He sees beyond the prickliness to the broken heart.
ISAIAH: GOD KNOWS US INTIMATELY
They do not rise at random, nor do they wander haphazardly through space. they rise at God's beck and call. He brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Not one is forgotten. Not one is overlooked. Not one is left behind.
We live in fear that we will never be known enough -- that others will never know who we really are, what our dreams are, and where our thoughts are taking us. God knows everyone of His sheep by name.
He's aware of each personality and peculiarity. They are the little ones that have to be carried, the cripples that can't keep up, the nursing ewes that won't be hurried.
God knows our pace. He knows when grief, pain, and loneliness overwhelm us. He knows when the full realization of our limitations comes home to us. He knows when we're shamed and broken and unable to go on. He gently leads them. He allows for hesitation and trepidation. He gives credit for decisions and resolutions that are strenuously tested. He feels the full weight of our disasters. He knows our pain as no one else knows it. Our bleating reaches His ears. He even hears our inarticulate cries.
When we lag behind, He does not scold us. He gathers us up, encircles us with His strong arm.
JEREMIAH: GOD PURSUES US IN LOVE
We readily forget God, our "resting place" and wander away. Yet He pursues us whenever we go, with no complaint of the darkness, the cold wind, the heavy burden, the steep hill, or the thorny path.
His love does not count time, energy, suffering, or even life itself. He is driven by love, NOT by our beauty.
EZEKIEL: GOD TENDERLY CARES FOR US
Good shepherds don't look down on lost sheep; they look for them. It's the other way around. He's out looking for them. He pursues them to the ends of the earth.
Although we are stiff-necked and stubborn, He is EQUALLY stiff-necked and stubborn. He will never give up His pursuit. He cannot get us off His mind.
Our Shepherd-God is a good shepherd. He knows well the condition of His flock. He sees the marks of sorrow on each face. He knows every cut and bruise, every ache and pain.
He has compassion on the afflicted and the handicapped. He understands sorrow, misfortune, broken homes, and shattered ambition.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" - Psalm 147:3
JACOB: GOD ACCEPTS US
The patriach Jacob was a shepherd and the first person in the Bible to make use of the shepherd metaphor for God.
Jacob was born with a difficult disposition. Gripping his twin brother's heel at birth, he continued throughout his life to try to trip him up and get ahead of him. Jacob's whole life was characterized by wheeling, double-dealing, grasping, grabbing, and jerking people around to gain selfish advantage.
Jacob is reminiscent of those who come into life with a pervasive tendency to go wrong. They are addicted to food, sex, alcohol, drugs, spending, gambling, or working. They have disturbed and difficult personalities, and have a "hard machine to drive."
God knows our tiresome stories. He understands the latent forces and all the sources and possibilities of evil in our natures. He sees the hurt and the heartbreak that others cannot see. He's aware of the reasons for our moodiness, our temper tantrums, our selfish indulgences. God never turns away. He sees beyond the prickliness to the broken heart.
ISAIAH: GOD KNOWS US INTIMATELY
They do not rise at random, nor do they wander haphazardly through space. they rise at God's beck and call. He brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Not one is forgotten. Not one is overlooked. Not one is left behind.
We live in fear that we will never be known enough -- that others will never know who we really are, what our dreams are, and where our thoughts are taking us. God knows everyone of His sheep by name.
He's aware of each personality and peculiarity. They are the little ones that have to be carried, the cripples that can't keep up, the nursing ewes that won't be hurried.
God knows our pace. He knows when grief, pain, and loneliness overwhelm us. He knows when the full realization of our limitations comes home to us. He knows when we're shamed and broken and unable to go on. He gently leads them. He allows for hesitation and trepidation. He gives credit for decisions and resolutions that are strenuously tested. He feels the full weight of our disasters. He knows our pain as no one else knows it. Our bleating reaches His ears. He even hears our inarticulate cries.
When we lag behind, He does not scold us. He gathers us up, encircles us with His strong arm.
JEREMIAH: GOD PURSUES US IN LOVE
We readily forget God, our "resting place" and wander away. Yet He pursues us whenever we go, with no complaint of the darkness, the cold wind, the heavy burden, the steep hill, or the thorny path.
His love does not count time, energy, suffering, or even life itself. He is driven by love, NOT by our beauty.
EZEKIEL: GOD TENDERLY CARES FOR US
Good shepherds don't look down on lost sheep; they look for them. It's the other way around. He's out looking for them. He pursues them to the ends of the earth.
Although we are stiff-necked and stubborn, He is EQUALLY stiff-necked and stubborn. He will never give up His pursuit. He cannot get us off His mind.
Our Shepherd-God is a good shepherd. He knows well the condition of His flock. He sees the marks of sorrow on each face. He knows every cut and bruise, every ache and pain.
He has compassion on the afflicted and the handicapped. He understands sorrow, misfortune, broken homes, and shattered ambition.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" - Psalm 147:3
MORE ABOUT THE SHEPHERD METAPHOR.
JACOB: GOD ACCEPTS US
The patriach Jacob was a shepherd and the first person in the Bible to make use of the shepherd metaphor for God.
Jacob was born with a difficult disposition. Gripping his twin brother's heel at birth, he continued throughout his life to try to trip him up and get ahead of him. Jacob's whole life was characterized by wheeling, double-dealing, grasping, grabbing, and jerking people around to gain selfish advantage.
Jacob is reminiscent of those who come into life with a pervasive tendency to go wrong. They are addicted to food, sex, alcohol, drugs, spending, gambling, or working. They have disturbed and difficult personalities, and have a "hard machine to drive."
God knows our tiresome stories. He understands the latent forces and all the sources and possibilities of evil in our natures. He sees the hurt and the heartbreak that others cannot see. He's aware of the reasons for our moodiness, our temper tantrums, our selfish indulgences. God never turns away. He sees beyond the prickliness to the broken heart.
ISAIAH: GOD KNOWS US INTIMATELY
They do not rise at random, nor do they wander haphazardly through space. they rise at God's beck and call. He brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Not one is forgotten. Not one is overlooked. Not one is left behind.
We live in fear that we will never be known enough -- that others will never know who we really are, what our dreams are, and where our thoughts are taking us. God knows everyone of His sheep by name.
He's aware of each personality and peculiarity. They are the little ones that have to be carried, the cripples that can't keep up, the nursing ewes that won't be hurried.
God knows our pace. He knows when grief, pain, and loneliness overwhelm us. He knows when the full realization of our limitations comes home to us. He knows when we're shamed and broken and unable to go on. He gently leads them. He allows for hesitation and trepidation. He gives credit for decisions and resolutions that are strenuously tested. He feels the full weight of our disasters. He knows our pain as no one else knows it. Our bleating reaches His ears. He even hears our inarticulate cries.
When we lag behind, He does not scold us. He gathers us up, encircles us with His strong arm.
JEREMIAH: GOD PURSUES US IN LOVE
We readily forget God, our "resting place" and wander away. Yet He pursues us whenever we go, with no complaint of the darkness, the cold wind, the heavy burden, the steep hill, or the thorny path.
His love does not count time, energy, suffering, or even life itself. He is driven by love, NOT by our beauty.
EZEKIEL: GOD TENDERLY CARES FOR US
Good shepherds don't look down on lost sheep; they look for them. It's the other way around. He's out looking for them. He pursues them to the ends of the earth.
Although we are stiff-necked and stubborn, He is EQUALLY stiff-necked and stubborn. He will never give up His pursuit. He cannot get us off His mind.
Our Shepherd-God is a good shepherd. He knows well the condition of His flock. He sees the marks of sorrow on each face. He knows every cut and bruise, every ache and pain.
He has compassion on the afflicted and the handicapped. He understands sorrow, misfortune, broken homes, and shattered ambition.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" - Psalm 147:3
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