Often times, a sheep is
described as a meek animal and vulnerable to various dangers. Without a shepherd to guide and protect them,
there is a great tendency that they will not know where to go, lose the sense
of direction and become astray, and even worst, they will be defenseless when attacked
by wolves.
Our Lord Jesus Christ
presents himself to us as the good shepherd.
He cares for all His sheep. He
knows them well and he knows what they need.
The only concern of the sheep is food and water, yet, Jesus does not
only satisfies His sheep with material food but also with the spiritual food,
that is, His Bread and His Word. He
protects them so as no one will snatch them out of His hand and He also leads
them to the abundant pastures of His Father.
Probably,
a hired shepherd would not take great risk on behalf of the sheep, and worst,
maybe in time of danger, he might even flee and leaving the flock behind to be feasted
upon by wolves or by thieves. Money in
exchange of service is not always a good motivator for courage and
commitment. Most of the time, it is love
that motivates us to commit ourselves to others especially those who are in need. Jesus is a good shepherd, in as much as He is
always willing to do everything for His sheep and He even gives His own life in
order to keep them safe.
The distinguishing mark of Jesus’ sheep is their willingness to
hear and obey, just as disobedience is the mark of those who are not His. In other words, the sheep that belong to
Jesus are characterized by obedience, that is, the recognition of the voice of
the Shepherd and following His command or instruction. Now, as persons claiming to be Christians,
who are followers of Christ, did we ever dare to ask ourselves: are we really
the sheep of Jesus, listening to His voice and obeying Him? Or are we simply His sheep by name?
As Christians, and true followers
of Jesus, we are expected to do what the Good Shepherd did. Our courage and commitment for the service of
others, who are considered also the sheep, must always be motivated by love, so
that we can faithfully and joyfully perform our tasks whether it is of small or
of great importance, and even willingly and readily risk our life in face of
danger in order to save them. Now, let us
start to do even the ordinary things with extraordinary love, and that we can
be truly become the followers of Jesus, counted as one of His good and obedient
sheep. By true spirit of commitment to
everything good we do, we can also become a good shepherd like our Jesus, tending
and shepherding our fellow sheep.
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