Shepherd

Shepherd

The idea that God is our shepherd has great meaning for me. I worked as a shepherd for a time when I was young, and this affected me in profound ways.

As Christians we see God-as-shepherd-to-His-people throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.

There are many others, who do not see themselves as people of faith but who find great comfort in David's 23rd Psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ..". I think that this is because we often feel alone and vulnerable, even frightened, by what we know of the world. The thought of having someone of great righteousness and power looking out for us is very heartening. Not a cowboy or a corporate executive or a wheat farmer or a crocodile wrangler, but a shepherd ..

In Bible times a shepherd would stay with his sheep and guide, protect and care for them constantly, he would be present and he would be working. I have come to see that this is how Jesus is towards me ..

".. Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working" (John 5:17).

It is easy to forget that God works all the time; He is constantly creating new life and sustaining all the universe; I cannot really get a clear hold on this - it is such a big concept. He is looking out for each one of us every minute of every day; He uniquely cares for me, and Trish, and us as a married couple, and our family; the people of our city, and of our time.

And you too, He reminds your heart to beat and your lungs to fill ..

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8).

When I was just fifteen my father sent me to help on the farm of his war-time buddy, Mr. Donald. It was lambing time when I was there. This was a stud farm where all the animals were pedigree, they were carefully bred, rams and ewes, to sell to other farmers to improve their own flocks. Every lamb born was precious, stud lambs fetch a superior price at market. Mr. Donald depended on having a good lambing for his livelihood; we checked the mothering sheep five times each day, starting as it was getting light and finishing after dinner at night.

On my first afternoon I was given a horse to ride; as a shepherd I would need a horse. His name was Baron, he had been a pacer and had spent his life racing other horses. I had never ridden before; this seemed not to be a problem to the farmer or to his full-time shepherd, Robert. The horse knew that I was not his master so was skittish and bossy for the first week. I was also given a bag containing everything I would need for me to help ewes give birth to their baby lambs when they were having trouble on their own, much like an obstetrician or a midwife helps human mothers. Lastly, I was given a shepherd's crook which I would use to get that extra reach to grab a running sheep so I could help her.

I still vividly remember that first afternoon and evening. Riding my horse was scary but also exciting; you are so very high off the ground! The spring-time countryside was beautiful. My new friend, Rob the shepherd, was kind and very knowledgeable as he explained what our job was.

Suddenly he yelled and spurred his horse forward; immediately Baron was in pursuit; I was just able to hang on. We got to the distressed sheep and dismounted; Rob dismounted, I virtually fell off. My shepherd friend was now with the troubled birthing ewe; her baby was partially born but she could do no more to bring it forth. Rob immediately went to work, he sanitised his hands and the area around the birth canal, then very gently eased his fingers, then his hand and arm into the birth canal. The ewe did not seem to mind this massive intrusion but I was totally shocked. I had not long turned 15, in those days boys were quite unlearned about feminine parts and functions, pregnancy, gestation and birth, and really knew nothing about sex, (though we were very excited at the prospect of soon learning more!)

Rob explained to me that he needed to establish where the lamb's four legs were. We could see part of the face. The most desirable position is for the lamb to be ready to be born facing the outside, with the front feet together and forward with the lamb's chin resting on the backs of its feet, and the hind legs, with their big thigh muscles, trailing. The whole lamb is in a sack, which is filled with amniotic fluid and connected to the mother's uterus wall by the umbilical cord, this supplies everything the baby needs to develop and grow. While the sack is intact the baby is completely safe, but once the sack tears the baby needs to be born. A mother is so amazing that the tearing of the sack sends a message to her body to contract and push, to bring about the birth as quickly as possible. The mother's body can no longer sustain the baby, it now needs to be in the world.

Rob struggled for a minute or two then slowly removed his hand; the ewe gave a mighty push and with a sudden and very wet whooshing sound the baby lamb was born.

What a moment. New life! I had never experienced anything like it. I had played no part in this drama, but I was there, completely awe struck, amazed. My heart was pounding. I recognised something, in life, in eternity, in myself. Glorious.

Over the next three weeks I learned to ride a horse, (the second and third days were very, very painful), and to round up sheep and lambs and do a hundred farm chores. I also learned to help mother sheep birth their babies. Perhaps I helped a hundred births in all sorts of difficult situations, twins too, even triplets. Never did I lose that sense of total awe-filled amazement at the new births, the coming of new life into the world.

No matter how difficult the birth was, and sometimes the mother had been struggling for hours before Rob or I found her, the ewe immediately completely became a mother. She would find the lamb, or lambs, (they seemed to absolutely know if they had twins or triplets), they would lick them clean and get them feeding. Sheep have no hands and very limited language but this process almost always worked perfectly. Nothing was going to stop the mother uniting with her baby and getting about nurturing it. I have a memory of power and confident responsibility.

As a shepherd I was simply a servant (and an observer of miracles), providing a small help in this fabulous yet eternal process of new life.

At 15 years old, my immediate question was: "Can this be my life's work? Can I do something which would enable me to be involved with this miracle always?" In those days shepherding was a short term job; young men would work as a shepherd on the way to another career job. In no way could my family establish me on my own farm, but with enough study I could be a doctor and specialise in mothers-to-be and their births. When I asked my science teacher, he made it plain that my intellect would not get me into medical school, nor through the years of study and practical work. A career of helping babies be born seemed completely out of reach. (Nursing was not considered a suitable career for men in those days).

Only once since then have I helped a mother ewe give birth, I was driving home from the country and saw a ewe in trouble in a paddock by the road. It looked as though, without immediate assistance, the lamb would die, and possibly soon after that, so would the mother. I rolled up my sleeves and went to work. The lamb was not presenting at all well and the mother's efforts had just made things worse. Soon I had re-arranged the baby's forelegs and head, the ewe gave a mighty push. The wonderful glorious moment! New life! I was as excited as the mother! She went right to work settling her baby down: "forget the pain, forget the exhaustion, forget that fearsome looking young man standing there, it's now time for my baby!"

Trish and I have six children, our twins, the youngest, are now 20. When we were expecting our first child the midwife taught us about "husband coached childbirth" and encouraged all the soon-to-be dads to learn to rub backs and help and participate in the birth. Yes, this was for me. Absolutely. Totally, fabulously awesome! Love in action .. Not a delivery .. not a hospital procedure .. a mother giving birth to her baby .. a new baby being welcomed into his or her family!

This story is really about Jesus and Father God, and me, and you, and all those who have gone before, and those who will came after. It is about life and family and continuity.

Here were answers to the Big Questions. Why am I here? What does life mean? Is there any purpose in anything? Where did I come from?

Until I came to belong to Jesus, and to know Him, these questions really bothered me. There seemed to be only partial, temporary and contradictory answers in the world. Now I had seen life up close in a most profound way and had come to know that every life is a miracle.

Once Jesus brought me to Himself I learned that "relationship" is the big answer to the Big Question. Now I am in intimate everlasting relationship with the Lord and Creator of all that there is, that ever was (Colossians 1:16). Even these mothering ewes know this as they have their babies (Psalm 65:13, 96:11-12, 97:1, and Romans 8:22). Jesus is “my Shepherd”.

I never got to medical school, but my testimony is that because I belong to Jesus and live "in Him" (John 14:16-17), I see new life everywhere. The miracle of birth is all around us, all the time. We see it in the wilderness and the seasons, in our families and among our friends, even in the parks and gardens of the big cities. There is new life in great music and architecture and design. Birth and new life are part of who we are because it is part of Him who created us, our Shepherd.

Amen.

Favourite Scriptures

"David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,  I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine'. Saul said to David, 'Go, and the Lord be with you'" (1 Samuel 17:34-37).

"Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20).

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

 He leads me beside quiet waters.

 He restores my soul;

 He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; 

 Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

 You have anointed my head with oil;

 My cup overflows.

 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"

(Psalm 23:1-6 A Psalm of David).

Hallelujah!

First posted in January 2011 revised January 2020.

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Praise Jesus.