Thought For Today: “The Ultimate Shepherd”

Pastors are flawed and imperfect people who are prone to make mistakes and not doing everything right. (Yes this includes me as hard as that is to believe.)

The reason is because pastors are human beings and thus sinners. Yet, God has set them up and called them to faithfully feed His flock and care for His sheep (Jeremiah 23:4). But they do so under the auspices and guidance of the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

“Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:2-3)

And our example needs to be Jesus’s example who said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

What we need to be careful of are those false shepherds, hirelings, who are in it for the fame and fortune who divide and scatter rather than feed and shelter (Jeremiah 23:1-2). They do not follow Jesus’s lead but do it their own way and lead from their own understanding bringing false and misleading messages.

Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and will follow Him (John 10:27). We therefore need to make sure we’re following Jesus first, the ultimate shepherd, and His shepherds who faithfully teach His word.