The Great Shepherd

     The world is filled with majestic animals such as the horse and the lion and the Tiger, the wolf and the coyote.  You can go out and purchase a lap quilt or blanket with a picture of the animal all over the blanket.  I have worked with farm animals when I was a youngster and often enjoyed their different characteristics.  The pigs seemed to have only two things in mind; mud and food.  The cows were about the same except they added curiosity to their character.  While digging post holes one day, the cows came up to look in every hole and in the process knocked half of the dirt back into the hole.  I never worked with sheep but life has taught us that we, as human beings, are much like the sheep.  I haven't seen a lap quilt with a sheep on it as a protector as they are not the guard type of animal.  Psalm 23:5 says, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."   
     Psalm 23 is a Psalm that we read at most funerals because of its description of death being just a shadow.  God, as always, chose the exactly right animal to present us with a picture of our own condition.  Sheep need t Shepherd.  We need a shepherd.  Sheep need protection.  We need protection.  Sheep need guidance.  We need guidance.  Throughout the Old Testament, lessons can be learned about the life of the sheep and how it is so similar to our own lives.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to the Jordan River, he yelled our, "Behold the Lamb of God..."   The Gospel of John goes on to show us deeper lessons in the lives of the sheep especially in John, chapter ten.  Psalm 23 is not just for the funeral, but for life itself.  We can have protection from the evils of the world because of our Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.  We also find that we have all that we need because of the Great Shepherd.  He leads us from pasture to pasture and even provides a table that has been prepared for us.  When the enemies come, our Great Shepherd is the One Who fights for us and Who is victorious in every battle.  Truly, our cup runs over.  It is filled to the brim and runs down the side.  When you go out today and in the days to come, just remember that you, like a sheep, have a Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is going to give you the protection that you need.  Maybe someday, there will be a lap quilt with a large big horned sheep on it.  Praise God today for the protection that we have in our Great Shepherd.