I WANT to talk to you a little about the picture. It seems to me that the friend who drew it thought more about the lambs and sheep than about the shepherd; but thought there ought to be someone to look after them, so he put a man sitting down, a good way off, and looking half asleep. I am afraid this is too much like we all think of our own “good Shepherd.” We think more of ourselves, and how we take care of ourselves or of one another, than of what it is to belong to the “one flock” of that good Shepherd who never sleeps. He “ne’er forgets the least,” and He holds in His “hand” the lambs as well as the sheep. He “gathers” them with His “arm,” holds them in His “hand,” carries them in His “bosom” or on His “shoulders.” And does He not love them with His heart? If he does not, I cannot tell why He should say,
“THE GOOD SHEPHERD GIVETH HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP.” John 10:1111I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11). May you, dear little readers, and may I, learn more about this Shepherd of the sheep!
My Shepherd is the Lord,
The living Lord who died;
With all things good I ever am
By Him supplied.
ML 04/09/1933