shepherding the shepherd
from PreachingToday.com
‘Myrrh Is Mine’
There is a sacred fragrance to our calling. Pastors handle holy treasures, lay our hands upon the warm outside walls of eternity, dwell on God’s mystery finally made known, and outfit saints for eternity with Christ. It is like working in a perfumery. “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved ….”
Good as Gold
The first shepherds to see the Christ child came empty-handed. We pastors, however, are a new breed of shepherds. We have our own unique, God-given treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh to present to the Lord Jesus. Take, to begin with, our gifts of gold…
‘The Crowning Grace of Old Age’
A seminary student once told me, “When I think of grace, I don’t think of my pastors or youth pastor. I think of the old ladies in my church.” He didn’t mean that his pastors had failed him but rather that those elderly women had brought him a unique gift of grace.
Arborists
A kingdom axiom says the righteous always flourish, “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Considering that, what great work we pastors have been given! We are like kingdom arborists, attending to righteous believers planted in the courtyard of God’s high and holy temple. We are gardeners in God’s re-creation of Eden, his arboretum of saints.
A Song That Sets Us Apart
Our “psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit” trace their lineage back to the Hebrew psalter. There, one psalm, Psalm 92, is designated, “For the Sabbath Day.” It is still sung by Jews every Sabbath morning and evening and at every festival. Why? Because it constantly reminds Israel who they are and what sets them—and us—apart.