Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:11. There are so many renderings of Him sitting or standing by His flock, carrying a little wayward lamb on His shoulders. We love those pastoral scenes. They are so beautiful and peaceful. But is that really the way it is with sheep and shepherds?
His name was Shrek. He was a sheep … a runaway sheep. He lived in New Zealand and one day he broke loose and went on the lam!
For six years Shrek hid out, away from his shepherd. He was doing his own thing, living life his own way. All the while his fleece continued to grow … and grow … and grow. He looked like some creature from outer space, no longer even resembling the sheep he was. When Shrek was finally found, his fleece weighed more than 60 pounds.
What must it have been like when Shrek met up with the shepherd again? How free must he have felt when that heavy, dirty fleece, probably full of grass and twigs and bugs and who knows what, was lifted off his back? He could run again, jump, and rest. The weight of his life apart from the shepherd was gone.
Sheep need a shepherd. Sheep are not very good at managing their own lives very well. (They are pretty dumb in fact and stay that way their whole life.) Shrek is a perfect example of that.
We humans need a Good Shepherd. We aren’t very good at managing our own lives very well either. I’m a perfect example of that!
