Abundant Life – Shepherding the Flock (Part 2)
I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice. — Ezekiel 34:16
I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. — John 10:16
Author
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
Summary: Shepherding God’s people means caring for them with love and a sincere desire to serve, not out of obligation, greed, or a desire to dominate. Those who do so must set an example, watch over the sheep, lift up those who fall, and protect the weakest with justice. We must also nurture fellowship: sharing meals and what we lack, standing together in sorrow and joy, praying, and praising the Lord. Shepherding includes helping the flock grow strong in faith, the Word, the gospel, and the church, and clothing ourselves in humility rather than pride. Our love for Jesus is made visible in this service as we await the enduring glory of his Kingdom.
How are we to shepherd God’s people? The apostle Peter gives us the formula: “…watching over them, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God desires; not for greed for money, but with sincere eagerness; nor as lording it over those entrusted to you, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
. (1 Peter 5:2–3).
Thus the Lord gives us a very clear mission when it comes to shepherding His people: to do it with love. That is what *willingly* means (1 Peter 5:2), and that is what God desires. A sense of obligation is devoid of passion; feeding the flock out of mere duty will never bring blessing. The Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, warns with fatherly concern those who treat His flock with meanness and grim authority, and exhorts them to be examples within the fold, as befits true shepherds. The Lord wants those who shepherd to keep watch among His people as well, knowing that some sheep may fall into one of this world’s dunghills and will need to be lifted up, cleaned, and loved.
God’s love in caring for His flock is agape, which has no end (“…love never fails” (1 Cor 13)); it is sacrificial, swelling like a river of grace, but it is also a love that brings justice when some sheep take advantage of the weaknesses of those most broken: “I will search for the lost sheep, bring back the strays, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the fat and strong sheep I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice” (Ezekiel 34:16 NIV).
A fourth meaning of shepherding could be to teach fellowship, that companionship so necessary within the church, in sorrow and in joy. There may still be brothers and sisters around you who need the merciful act of “breaking bread” beside them to satisfy their spiritual (or physical) hunger. To remain steadfast in fellowship and prayer, to be of one mind in the Lord’s affairs, and to share the table and our hardships “with gladness and simplicity of heart” (Acts 2:42 and 2:46). Shepherding the flock also means not forgetting the joy that flows from continual worship, from unceasing praise of the one Savior and Redeemer.
Finally, shepherding means helping the flock put on the armor of God (faith, the Word, the gospel, the church) to defend themselves against the perversity of this century (this age) and to preserve us for the coming of the Chief Shepherd, who is the hope of glory for the Christian whose vision is set on eternity. It is the glory that will one day be revealed, not the glory people seek today, adorned with crowns of flowers that wither, but crowns that neither lose their bloom nor die because they are tended by the hand of the Lord, the finest gardener, in His garden of abundant grace. Shepherding also means beginning, once and for all, to clothe ourselves in humility and leave behind the pride that has done so much harm to the flock of the Shepherd of shepherds.
The Lord came in search of His sheep, those who are not of His fold. And Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt 15:24). Our love for Him must also be shown in the work of shepherding His flock, the church that bears witness today in the face of brutal humanism and prepares for the joy of the glory of the Kingdom in the age to come, for the enduring hope that began at the cross and will last for all eternity. “Do you love me?” Jesus might one day ask us. And how wonderful to know already the answer we can give Him: “Yes, Lord, send me to shepherd Your sheep!”
God bless you!