known and unknown
Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:32 pm
The stories about the shepherds naming and knowing their sheep are beautiful. And the sheep know their shepherds and are bonded to them.
I grew up on a farm and we had cattle. But the rancher's or farmer's cattle are cared for in a far different way. Much less personal. No farmer sleeps with his cattle! We knew the cattle but did not name them, and we did not know them intimately (couldn't have told one from another in the dark). There were times of intimate care (calving season), but these were few and far between. Cattle have far fewer problems calving than ewes lambing.
So the intimate knowledge and connection between shepherd and sheep is quite striking, and it causes me to be humbled before the Great Shepherd in a new way. How well he knows me and still loves me!
And although the analogy to my care of His sheep is apt, instead I am pondering whether each of my (former) sheep know, really know His voice and can be stopped in similar wonder over His tender care? After all, Jesus said that his sheep would hear his voice (not mine). I wonder how often good undershepherds (and not so good ones) get in the way of attachment between sheep and the Great Shepherd?
I grew up on a farm and we had cattle. But the rancher's or farmer's cattle are cared for in a far different way. Much less personal. No farmer sleeps with his cattle! We knew the cattle but did not name them, and we did not know them intimately (couldn't have told one from another in the dark). There were times of intimate care (calving season), but these were few and far between. Cattle have far fewer problems calving than ewes lambing.
So the intimate knowledge and connection between shepherd and sheep is quite striking, and it causes me to be humbled before the Great Shepherd in a new way. How well he knows me and still loves me!
And although the analogy to my care of His sheep is apt, instead I am pondering whether each of my (former) sheep know, really know His voice and can be stopped in similar wonder over His tender care? After all, Jesus said that his sheep would hear his voice (not mine). I wonder how often good undershepherds (and not so good ones) get in the way of attachment between sheep and the Great Shepherd?