The Lamb and the Shepherd

Luke 15:4-7 is the parable of the Lost Sheep: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

I just learned something really interesting about this passage. In Biblical times, when a shepherd found a sheep that had run off he gently broke the sheep's leg and put it around his shoulders, carrying it back to the herd. He would then nurse the sheep back to health, allowing for a close bond to be created between the sheep and the shepherd. Once the sheep's leg was healed, it would still follow the shepherd around everywhere because of this newfound bond and would never run away again.

This is a metaphor for our relationships with God. Sometimes, when we are running away from Him, He will come and "break" our leg in a spiritual sense. This can come in the form of suffering, trials, humiliation, etc. Through these experiences we will turn to and rely on God in a deeper way than before, and will grow in our relationship with Him. Once our suffering goes away, we will still stay on the path of holiness (God-willing) because our lives have been changed. No matter what suffering we are going through, God is always in the midst of it with us even though we may not be able to recognize Him at first. He is always there to sustain us and renew us, to help us on the path to healing. We should never begrudge Him our sufferings, as easy as that is, because it is through them that we become closer to Christ our Good Shepherd.