You Belong to the Shepherd
“14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. . .27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ”
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Think about your favorite drama. Maybe it is a TV series, or a movie. Maybe it is a Broadway musical or a stage drama. Or, maybe it is a book. Now, think of what keeps that drama interesting, what keeps the plot moving along. No matter the drama, what usually keeps it moving is the relationship between characters.
Relationships are a necessary, though sometimes challenging, part of our lives. We care for and about one another. We belong to each another, just as we belong to the flock of the Good Shepherd. Belonging is a necessary part of life.
Jesus used the metaphor of being a shepherd for his followers. “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”
Jesus drew on the images in the Hebrew Scripture from the prophets and the psalms. He is our shepherd, who cares for us, his followers, his flock. He knew the familiar words of Psalm 23, “We are God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture.” We belong to the Good Shepherd.
The foundation of our faith is that we belong to God. We aren’t alone. We are a part of something much greater than ourselves, God’s flock. No matter what happens, you belong to God who is greater than anything you encounter in your life.
No matter how limited your life may seem to be, you belong to God, who offers meaning and purpose to your life. No matter how difficult and challenging your life is, you belong to God who cares for you; who loves you enough to come to this world in the person of Jesus, for your sake.
You belong to God. Whatever you face in life, you can find comfort, hope and strength in the recognition that you belong to God.
But, grasping the spiritual reality of belonging to God is sometimes hard. We need the physical reality of God’s love shown through other people. We belong to one another. We are a part of each other’s lives.
We share each other’s joys and sorrows. Like that small group of disciples who walked with Jesus, we know God’s love through each other. We encounter God in the ordinary, small details of our relationships with one another. We belong to one another, because we belong to God.
God’s love is made real through each of us. God brings us together so that we can be the physical, tangible human touch of God. We belong to one another, because we belong to God. We know how much God loves, includes, and cares for us through the way we love, include, and care for one another.
Belonging. To follow Jesus, to live in the Kingdom of God here on earth, we must see that we belong to God. And, we belong to one another. Listen to your shepherd’s voice and follow – because you belong.
-Rev. Greg Smith
Practice
There aren’t many flocks of sheep around Atlanta. Have you ever seen a flock of sheep being tended by a shepherd? Read John 10:11-30. Contemplate what it means in your life to belong to the flock of the Good Shepherd. Give thanks to God for the different ways God cares for you.
In the flock of the Good Shepherd, we belong to one another. Contemplate who is in your flock. In what ways do you love, include, and care for each other as God loves, includes, and cares for each of you? Give thanks to God for each person in your flock.
Greg Smith
Legacy Ministry for Older Adults