Monday, March 9, 2009

Psalms 23 - Part VI

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalms 23:4

The rod and staff are extensions of the shepherd. They are symbols of his position and tools of his trade. As a sheep passing through the valley of the shadow of death, I am not afraid because my shepherd is with me. I have seen him use his rod and staff, time and time again, to handle danger, correct me and the other sheep, keeping us all safe and together.

I am not an undisciplined sheep. I recognize the shepherd’s authority and I take comfort in knowing that when I begin to stray, my shepherd loves me enough to chastise me. I know the power of that rod and staff because I’ve seen him handle wolves with it. I also know that all I have to do is follow that staff and I will always be cared for, well fed, watered and protected from harm. His strength and authority comfort me.

My Dad was a Shepherd… sort of

As a child, my Dad loved his children enough to discipline us. I remember a time when I was a first grader my two older brothers and I got into trouble on the school bus. The driver, Mrs. Conrad, was so upset by our poor behavior that she made the three of us sit in the front seat as punishment and called my parents to report. We dreaded what would happen when Dad got home from work later that evening. But the shepherd is wiser than his sheep!

As we sat together that day, quarantined on the death row cell-block of that front seat, the bus crested the hill at Hotaling’s farm and began the final half mile down the country road to our house. As we got closer, I realized that something was out of place. There was something, no, someone, standing where our bus stopped. Slowly, like a magic-eye picture coming into focus, it became terrifyingly clear—it’s Dad… and he’s holding a strap in his hand. You see, Dad was never home from work this early… never!

The entire bus filled with local kids of all ages became eerily silent as the wheels screeched to a halt and we ‘sheepishly’ exited. The wise shepherd, rod in hand, marched us into the house and we lined up to take our ‘lickins.’ Chuck, the oldest, went first and took his medicine like a real trooper. Donald next—he was a great crier, beggar and screamer… no holding back for him.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this mayhem I had a brilliant desperate idea—my daily chore (which I usually fought) was walking three doors down to the Post Office to retrieve the mail.

“Mom,” I said already moving for the door, “I’ve got to go and get the mail.”

Miracle of miracles, it worked! I was out the door as I heard Mom say, “You’ll get your medicine when you get back.”

But the moment was over and I dodged the bullet. Now just lay low for a few days and avoid Dad and its clear sailing.

Truth be told, as the youngest of the three sheep, I was spared this time, although Chuck and Don—not so lucky—sorry guys.

But oddly enough that event had a profound effect on my soul. Here’s how:

  1. I never got into trouble on the bus again. I didn’t get the strap that time but my earthly shepherd effectively communicated to me that he would go to any ends to ensure my conformity to the standards of the fold. Having the name Engelhardt demanded that we conduct our lives above public disgrace. Likewise, to God’s sheep it is written, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” 1 Peter 2:9
  2. The fact that I had a real father, who took his role in my life very seriously, was scary but at the same time made me feel very secure as a kid. The boundaries he set were enforced.
    In the same way, the rod and the staff of the Good Shepherd comfort me today. The Word of God says, “For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:12
  3. As a kid, when my buddies got stupid attacks and wanted to do something really bad, I could always use the excuse, “I can’t do that, my father will kill me,” and the guys believed me. They had seen for themselves the commitment my shepherd had to his sheep.
    Today, when people want to do ungodly things, most times they do not even let me know about it. They know that the Lord is my shepherd and that I follow the family standard. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Romans 11:22
  4. Another advantage I received as a kid was that my friends were at times jealous because we had an old-school disciplinarian father. And believe it or not many of them looked at us in awe after that infamous day. It gave us a bit of a swagger simply because we had a higher standard than they.
    As a child of God under the Good Shepherd, I am proud to be associated with the highest, toughest, strongest, coolest and wisest Father in the universe. He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 13:24

The Cross

Another way to think of the rod and staff of the Good Shepherd is as the Cross—the wooden tool of the Good Shepherd’s trade used to defeat the enemy and save His sheep from death. The rod and/or staff are what the shepherd lifts up and the sheep follow. No matter where you are, eating your grass or frolicking around—whatever sheep do—out of the corner of their eye, you can always see that staff. You just know you are safe and secure. Such is the cross of Jesus Christ.

I was in Kenya, Africa many years ago, out in the bush, walking along with Bishop Julius Wafula, and we happened upon a shepherd out in the middle of nowhere. He was sitting on a rock, and he had his sheep around him. Those sheep were just as content as could be and this man had his staff in his hand and his full time job was the care of those couple dozen sheep.

The single most important element in all of our lives is the Cross of the Good Shepherd. If you don’t have your heart set on the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ as your salvation, if you don’t know for sure that He died for your sins, that everything’s going to be okay... If you don’t know positively that that Cross is the place where you transition into eternity, you will absolutely get lost.

Correction not Rejection

As we’ve seen, the shepherd sometimes uses his rod for correction. Modern people, however, frequently confuse correction with rejection and resent the prodding of the Good Shepherd. I have learned over many years to praise God that we have a shepherd who will correct us when we do wrong. For example, if I were a serious athlete, I would not want a coach who only told me how perfectly I played my sport, especially if I keep losing games. Elite coaches make huge salaries just to show people what they are doing wrong!

In the same way, I do not want a shepherd to tell me how good I am when my heart can hold so much darkness. If we are honest we know that what is inside of us is not always good. You see, there is only one thing in life that truly terrifies me. Losing Jesus.

Fearing God is the Beginning of Wisdom

Imagine waking up one day and feeling mixed up, disoriented and separated from the Good Shepherd. You look inside but cannot find Him anymore. Lee Strobel, in his book, The Case for Faith, tells of an old man who was a preacher in his youth and became disillusioned and left God. He eventually became an atheist and even wrote books against God.

And then, as a dying man with a terminal disease and with Alzheimer’s setting in, Strobel interviewed him and asked him what he thought about Jesus now that he had spent many decades away from God. The man began to cry, he said, “Oh, I miss Him terribly.”

You see, if you don’t know why we celebrate Christmas, if you don’t know why we celebrate Easter, if you don’t have a love affair with Jesus Christ, Himself, you don’t know the Good Shepherd.

My prayer: Please, Jesus, never let me stray from You, so that I don’t know where You are anymore. Please, let me keep that Cross in focus, where you paid for my sins. Please, Jesus, keep me close to You always!

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. The wonderful Cross of Jesus Christ is a comfort to me. I am a sinner. I need a savior. There is an ‘X’ on the timeline of history where my savior, the Good Shepherd, conquered death, hell and the grave and now He lives for evermore and waits for me beyond death’s door. I will fear no evil!

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