The Shepherd and the Lamb, Part 1

The last two weeks of youth group we’ve covered the topics of God being the Good Shepherd and the Perfect Lamb, and it’s been fun to learn more about Him through these biblical analogies!

We started with the analogy of the Shepherd in Psalm 23[1]. The chapter is a song written by one of the most famous kings of Israel, King David. David went through some difficult times in his life, especially as he waited on God to become King. You see, God had proclaimed David to be king and anointed him with oil by the prophet Samuel as a symbol of this promise, but for several years David lived and served under King Saul, who was David’s enemy and tried to kill him many times. David most likely wrote Psalm 23 during a time in his life when he was on the run from Saul and his armies.

Psalm 23:1 says “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

This is an interesting opening statement to a song. David grew up as a shepherd, so he knew well the “ins and outs” of taking care of sheep, but to say “I shall not want” is definitely a bold statement. Generally, we want things! Whether it’s food, water, shelter, clothing, a new bicycle, video game, or the latest fashion skirt on the market, we want things a lot. But for little sheepies, as I affectionately call them in youth group, life isn’t so glamorous. Sheep aren’t that smart, for starters, and can’t really defend themselves with teeth or claws. They really stand in need of good pasture, protection, personal hygiene attendants, and leadership. Sheepies can’t really give themselves hair-cuts after all, and if left to themselves, they’ll just wander off to some forsaken piece of barren land, and die. That’s why sheep need an able-bodied shepherd who can protect them from predators and lead them to good pastures. In this sense, David compares God to a good shepherd who is fully able and faithful to protect and satisfy all of his sheepie-like needs.

Being on the run, David definitely had his own handful of needs. There was one instance in particular when David and his men were fleeing away from Saul in the valley of one side of a mountain, while Saul’s army searched for him in the valley on the other side of the mountain. God distracted King Saul and saved David that day, who later called the mountain a “Rock of Escape.” You can read about it in 1 Samuel 23:26-28.[2] This instance, and perhaps others, led David to write this line of his song in Psalm 23:4-

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”

He also writes in verse 5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

This is interesting because Saul, at the advice of his son, ceased hunting David for a brief period of time and invited him back to his table to partake in a feast. You can read about that in 1 Samuel 18:6-19:7.[3]

David’s comparison of God to a good Shepherd is not that far off. Jesus actually calls Himself  The Good Shepherd twice in John 10:11, 14-15 [4]:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

You would ask, ‘Why does He repeat Himself? And what does He mean about laying down his life… for sheep?!’ You might take a bullet for your best friend, but would you take a bullet for a large cotton ball with a poopy butt? No! But that’s just the reason why it’s awesome that God tells us He’s the Good Shepherd. God is willing to die for dumb, fluffy, messy sheepies, and He did. This is what makes it so good to be a Christian, to be called a child of God: God earnestly loves, protects, and satisfies the needs of His people. He made the way for us to have intimate relationship with Him, so that we might not be afraid of any evil knowing that He is always with us. God leads, protects, supplies, and disciplines those who are His because He loves them and works all things for their ultimate good in Him. There is no greater comfort in the world than to know that your every want is taken care of by a good, all-powerful God who created and loves you for you.

The only thing is, you have to make Him your Shepherd. More on that in our next installment.

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[1] Psalm 23, Youth Paperback Bible p. 261.

[2] 1 Samuel 23:26-28, YPB p. 141.

[3] 1 Samuel 18:6-19:7, YPB p. 138.

[4] John 10:11, 14-15, ,YPB p.523.

Relationships

Catching up on some Youth Group blog summaries! This particular week was the topic of courtship, “dating”, and God’s idea of what relationships should be. It’s a tricky topic because the World’s idea of relationships and dating is so very different from God’s idea for relationships. At a glance, the World’s concept of dating relationships is centered around sex, status, feelings of love, and self-fulfillment. On the other hand, God’s idea of relationships is centered around commitment, sacrifice, humility servant-hood, and waiting.

In our Matthew series, we came across Matthew 19:1-9[1] when the Pharisees, or the religious leaders of Israel, came to test Jesus with a question about divorce. Unfortunately divorce is a common thing in out culture, and it was common in Jesus’ culture as well, but divorce is something that breaks the heart of God. When the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus answered by pointed their attention somewhere deeper than their law-making self-righteousness would let them see; He quotes what God first said when romance began at the beginning of time. When God with love made man, male and female, He said,

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

This original quotation, found in Genesis 2:24[2], is significant because it is said at the moment when the first man and the first woman ever created were brought together in marriage. God’s idea of relationships (e.g. marriage) is between one man and one woman. I know there are lots of people today who are drawn towards homosexual relationships, but homosexuality simply isn’t a part of God’s design. In other words, those who partake in a homosexual lifestyle pervert the natural beauty of what God has designed. People who do this are still loved by God and by Christians, but the lifestyle of homosexuality is on that displeases God and ruins the beauty of His design. Genesis 2:24, which was given to the first two human beings ever, is also a guideline to all subsequent generations of human beings. Relationally, God’s design is for men to leave their fathers and mothers in order to commit to one woman as their wife in a new kind of family unit. In this new family unity the husband and wife are no longer two individuals but they are counted in God’s eyes as one. While both husband and wife have individual traits, desires, and needs, their physical, spiritual, and emotional unity represents something that is very special to the heart of God and very much like who God is.

Having seen that marriage between a husband and a wife is something that represents a much bigger truth in God’s eyes, Ephesians 5:22-23[3] is also a key passage that talks about marriage representing God’s relationship with those who believe in Him. Here god calls wives to submit to their husbands in respect and honor for them because they have been placed in leadership by God’s design. God also calls husbands to love, cherish, honor, and serve their wives as if they were their own bodies. The example for this self-sacrificial love is set by God Himself, who through Jesus died for the sake of those who would believe. (e.g. The church) To paraphrase John 15:13[4], there is no greater love than dying to self for the sake of other people, and nothing more godly. God loved us so much that He was willing to die for us in the person of Jesus Christ. In the same way husbands and wives can die for each other by loving their spouse and serving them first above their own wants and desires.

The Bible compares our present “waiting” relationship with God as to a betrothed woman waiting for her bridegroom and the upcoming date of the marriage ceremony. Those who believe in Jesus are all collectively compared to as the Bride, and Jesus is our Bridegroom. One day our God and King Jesus Christ will come back to us bodily and will reign forever, restoring and making all things new. He is committed to us, “engaged” if you will, and He has given us His own Holy Spirit as a guarantee for our future with Him as a Helper while we wait. Because our God dwells with us in this way we are not forsaken, and He has committed to bring us safely home. We can see from God’s example that relationships and marriage is all about commitment, which unfortunately is not a value that our world holds dear when it things about dating. The world things that dating is just supposed to be a fun, carefree, pleasure-filled time period that determines whether or not someone can fulfill your desires; but Jesus has made courtship to be a faith-filled adventure that allows two people to learn whether He is leading them to committedly serve and sacrifice for the other person. See the difference?

So when it comes to that special someone that you find yourself attracted to, ask yourself, why am I wanting to pursue a relationship? And why with this person? Is it because you want relationship for your own happiness? If that’s the case, then you’re not at all ready to love someone selflessly. Is it because you feel a desire to love them committedly for who they are and you think they might be able to love you just as selflessly? If not, then I’d say you’re also not ready for relationship, because relationships are really all about marriage, and marriage is really all about dying. But if you find that you’re not quite ready for relationship because you’re short in one of these categories, don’t freak out. Waiting on relationships allows you to have time to prepare, grow, and align yourself with God’s purpose for your life. Believe me, you want to be where God wants you to be, because it’s only then that all your desires and needs can truly be satisfied, especially when it comes to relationships. For the sake of true satisfaction in God (instead of empty satisfaction in a ‘significant other’ before you’re ready) many decide to wait from pursuing romantic relationships, which allows for more satisfaction, growth, and joy, in a relationship with Jesus that takes first priority, as opposed to the disappointment, hurt, and emptiness that comes from broken relationships without Jesus.

So are you waiting, or dying?

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[1] Matthew 19:1-9, Youth Paperback Bible, p. 481.

[2] Genesis 2:24, YPB p. 2.

[3] Ephesians 5:22-23, YPB p. 569.

[4] John 15:13, YPB p. 526.