Shepherding the Flock of God

Anonymous

If the flock of God has been scattered, one of the chief contributing causes is the absence of loving, self-sacrificing, pastoral care. When and where there has been a faithful shepherding of the sheep, they have prospered; where this has been neglected, they have wandered and failed. This ought to produce deep exercise and searchings of heart in all who have been called of the Lord to care in any way for His flock. The sheep are not told to seek the shepherds; the shepherds must go after the sheep. And this they will do if they have any sense of the preciousness of the sheep to Christ. But there has been great failure here. It is easier to build a little fold and enclose a few sheep therein than to be interested in the one flock. It requires less exercise of soul, less energy of faith and less self-judgment and true spirituality to keep a few sheep together by rules and regulations than to gather the sheep to the one shepherd. But if the under-shepherds mourn before the Lord because of the scattered condition of the flock and own that they have had their part in this, and have renewed in their souls the sense that He has called them to shepherd and feed those for whom He gave His life, we may look for a ministry from Himself that will revive and recover many.

Author unknown[1]

[1] From Scripture Truth (1918) vol. 10 p. 9. Courtesy of Scripture Truth Publications. This note preceded an article by Hamilton Smith entitled ‘The Flock of God’, which is recommended to the reader. The article is cited in the further reading list at the end of this magazine.

From: Truth and Testimony, 2023