Concerning Shepherds and Sheep

Yesterday while talking about the Church, I had an important thought, that in the shepherd and sheep analogy, the value is not in the shepherd, but rather in the sheep. 

In many churches, they have it the other way around, they think the shepherd is the important and valuable one, so much so that there is almost a pastor worship in some churches. 


Lord, help us to restore right order to the Body of Christ, giving honor to all, but especially seeing and believing in the value of the people. The shepherd, serves and encourages and feeds, but its ultimately about the sheep. We, as sheep, don't need to take our identity from who our shepherd is,  because we have our own value and identifty in who we are.  


I am reminded of a passage from Ezekiel, concerning shepherds and sheep:


(NIV)Ezekiel 34:1-6 
The word of the Lord came to me: [2] “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? [3] You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. [4] You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. [5] So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. [6] My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. 


Thankfully, Jesus desires to be our shepherd and calls us His sheep. He knows our value and was willing to die for us.  In that action - we can find our true value.  The Son of God laid down His life for us.


(NIV)John 10:11-15 
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. [13] The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--- [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father---and I lay down my life for the sheep.