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 Bible Verses
"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.
• Permalink to web page
https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2011/01/shepherd-draft-1.html
"Shepherd" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn
• Public link to podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SM2PDSjJWOiyxJKe1Zsgf
Praise Jesus.
