1 Peter 2:25—The Shepherd and Guardian of your soul

For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25

For you were continually straying like sheep…

Peter was not putting anyone down when he likened all of us to sheep; he was merely telling it like it is.

Sheep have very little situational awareness. They have very little self-awareness as well, and as a result, they have been known to wander off into danger.

Sheep can be busy munching on new and unusual grass, entirely unaware that they have wandered far away from the flock and straight toward a lion or a bear—the jaws of death in search of lunch.

Humans can be busy pursuing new and unusual diversions, entirely unaware that they are being wound around and around by webs of steel masquerading as fun, stimulation, pleasure, excitement, escape—the list goes on and on.

For you were continually straying like sheep…

…but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

The Good Shepherd leaves the flock to find the one sheep that has strayed, and finding it, He deals a deathblow to its predator and snatches the sheep from its doom.

The Good Shepherd whispers in your ears throughout your life—no, not that way; go this way. He woos and pursues you, and He prods you patiently as you search for truth down dead-end paths, as you dull your boredom or pain once again, or as you dogmatically deny your need for His kind of help. The Good Shepherd is relentless; He does not give up on you when others do—not even when you’ve given up on yourself—and He quietly works behind the scenes to bring you to the place where you will eventually say yes to Him: I let go of my own way. I am now ready to make You the Shepherd and Guardian of my soul.

And there your journey ends. And there your journey begins.

Dorothy

I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me. John 10:14

© 2015, Dorothy Frick