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Today's Lenten Devotion
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The Sacrifice of the Good Shepherd
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
-- John 10.11
There was a time in my life when I might have felt a little insulted that Jesus would liken me to a sheep! After all, the sheep’s only purpose, far as I can tell, is to benefit the shepherd (and his family, if he has one). After years of providing woolly mittens and fuzzy jackets, in the end it’s pretty much lamb chops or mutton for the poor sheep, unless the wolves get them first.
And, there’s never been a shortage of shepherds in this world. Every day, opportunities abound to join, enroll, enlist, or subscribe. Invitations to “follow” somebody are always in my mailbox, my inbox, stuffed in my front door, on my TV, and are even handed out on the streets. I’ve never had a problem simply ignoring them, just as I ignored invitations from the Good Shepherd during that period of my life.
Unlike all the others, who eventually scratch us off their mailing list, the Good Shepherd comes and finds us where we live, lifts us up and carries us with a love that passes all understanding, back to His place. In fact, it wasn’t until I arrived at Holy Trinity and stood in front of The Good Shepherd painting that hangs in our Fellowship Hall that I realized exactly how I’d gotten there. He carried me there alright, for 15 long years He carried me before He set me down in His house. Even now, so many years later, I sometimes stand before that same painting in awe of the Good Shepherd and see myself in the little lamb in His arms. I’m still working on a deeper understanding of His unconditional love - a love so deep, so wide, so forgiving it can’t help but evoke a daily ongoing response from the deepest part of me. How sad then, that most of those 15 years I felt unloved, even unlovable at times, never realizing how precious I’ve always been to Him.
Unlike all the other shepherds in the world, there is only one, the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life to save us. So, no lamb chops or mutton for us little lambs…quite the contrary! We’ve got a confirmed reservation in His heavenly pasture. He already purchased it and paid the price in full. Meanwhile, maybe we can help Him with the others that He is carrying, those who feel unloved and unlovable, and help them to understand how very precious they are to Him.
Father,
Help us to be worthy to take up the shepherd’s task and call others to come to the abundant overflowing love that is the life of your Son, the Good Shepherd. Amen.
Linda S. Magill
lindabythesea@yahoo.com
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