“Each night the sheep must “pass under the shepherd’s rod� to be individually checked for signs of illness, wounds, or weight loss.� Talk about accountability! This isn’t, however, just intense scrutiny born out of obligation. There is an overwhelming sense of meticulousness and responsibility immersed in care. I can only imagine the time it would take to check each sheep individually—and to do it every night! And I will be the first to confess that it is an attitude that I have lost touch with.
I’ve always struggled with the parable of the shepherd leaving the 99 to go after the one. What’s the point of risking the 99 for that 1—who promptly went off on its own and will probably do so again anyway?! It just doesn’t make sense. But that’s exactly the point. Compassion, mercy, and grace often do not make sense at all from ours as well as maybe the 99’s point of view. But it makes complete sense to the Shepherd. Each sheep is precious in His eyes. And I guess that it would make sense to that lost sheep as well—if we were that lost sheep. I don’t think that the Shepherd of our soul is telling His under-shepherds to just suck it up and deal with the pains and struggles of leading a flock that needs constant care. He never told us to deny our pains and hurts. He knows it firsthand. He encourages us to represent Him to our flock despite it. It still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense sometimes. But I do it anyway, because He did the unbelievable for me.
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