“The Lord is my Shepherd” - Psalms 1:1

God uses many illustrations to tell us who He is. While we could never fully express all of God's character in a single analogy, the image of God as a shepherd is the most heartfelt and endearing picture that we have of Him.

King David wrote the 23rd Psalm about a thousand years before Christ was born. What really made David such an amazing man was his relationship with God. He knew God and he gave his heart to Him.

Historically, the gods of Greek and Roman mythologies despised and mocked mankind.  In fact, most of the cultures in ancient history worshiped deities that were miserably mean and horrific in their dealings with humans and who had a thirst for the death and destruction of humans. Worshiping them often involved human sacrifice, temple prostitution and other unspeakable things.

But, look at the words of Psalms 23. Here is King David describing a loving, gentle God who cares and tends for us. Love was not a part of worship to the world around him. This was brand new stuff. It changed how the world would understand God for ever more.

Even today we see that much of the world lives in fear, believing in a supreme being who only wants to inflict pain and destroy. It is only the God of David that paints a picture of Himself as a shepherd caring for His sheep.

This is who we worship as Christians. The message of a loving God is as welcome as anything our minds can grasp. This is why the Gospel is called “Good news.” God cares for you and He welcomes you to come into His pasture to rest. In Him we find peace, safety and real comfort.

Isn’t that what you are looking for? Me, too! I can love a God like that!

John 10:14

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me.”