Christ: Shepherd; Me: Sheep

The writer to Hebrews says: "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep" (Heb 13.20, KJV). Christ is the shepherd. We are the sheep. The shepherd leads; the sheep follow. The shepherd guards; the sheep are guarded. The shepherd protects the sheep from harm; the sheep are protected. Sheep go astray; the shepherd finds them and brings them back into the fold. Sheep need food; the shepherd leads them to "green pastures." Sheep need water; the shepherd takes them to "quiet waters."

We sound so dependent, don't we? Which is the point. Sheep are dependent. This is the aim of our great God. He wants us to be dependent on him. He created us to be dependent on him. When we are independent, we get into trouble and go astray (and being the great shepherd that he is, he goes in search of us).

If you pay attention to the course of your life, you will see that one of the things God is always doing is giving you the opportunity to be a good sheep. He is (and will be) a great shepherd. Your responsibility is to be a great (which is to say, dependent) sheep.