Friendship, we all need it. We especially appreciate friends who can identify with where we are, what we are facing and feeling, and with important decisions that we have to make. It is to that end that this blog exists. If you are an undersheperd to the Lord’s church, if you have been called to shepherd the sheep who belong to the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, then I am your friend and I trust you are mine.
We live in a world full of wolves and counterfeits when it comes to the care of the sheep. Paul warned the Ephesian elders against the wolves who were coming. (Acts 20) We find stern warnings and pronouncements of judgment against false teachers in 2 Peter and the book of Jude. To watch for souls (Hebrews 13:17) is no small task and no inconsequential calling. Indeed we will have to give an account for our faithfulness in this work.
We also realize that the chief shepherd is going to appear one day, and it is on that day that we will truly find out how we have done. We are not qualified to accurately judge ourselves, the Lord judges us. May we be found faithful!
It would be wonderful to be able to say that it is only the wolves that worry us and weary us, but the truth is that sheep are not always easy to care for. Some of our greatest disappointments in the ministry do not involve those who are easily identified as enemies of the cross. Some of our greatest disappointments and most painful wounds are inflicted by the Judas’ and Demas’ of the world. Those who are found in the church, those who have claimed to be our friends but who prove to be unfaithful.
My prayer is that this would be a place of encouragement, a place to be challenged, a place to interact with counsel, instruction and even correction. May every faithful shepherd who visits this blog find a friend here!
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Richard
Filed under: Encouragement | Tagged: Christianity
