There was once a preacher at a little congregation in Knott, Texas. He studied with the members there, visited their sick, encouraged them and prayed for them. Then one day, that preacher became very ill. He saw a doctor who diagnosed him with cancer. Because he lived in such a small town, there was a great deal of driving: for doctor appointments, exams, etc. It was the congregation’s turn to help him. They helped drive him to the doctor, and they made food for him and his wife. They even brought in a recliner to the auditorium so that he could keep preaching from a more comfortable position. He preached from that recliner two nights before he died.
You see, both the congregation and that preacher were doing what God intended: They were taking care of each other…
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Acts 20:28
“To care for” is actually the verb form of “shepherd” (tend, feed, protect) the flock of God. This is what the elders do of course, but it’s also the responsibility of every member of God’s church.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
What was this price? God paid with his only son, Jesus. He cared so much for the church – for you and me – that he was willing to pay a steep cost. And if God cares for the church, if God values these souls, surely we must learn to do the same.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. John 10:11-13
The good shepherd lived out true care first. He has set the example of what it looks like to love his people fully. We, God’s precious people, must learn to care not just for the Shepherd but for our fellow sheep as well.
Remember the preacher and his congregation who learned this beautiful lesson of caring for one another?
That preacher was my grandfather.
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