Shepherd the Flock

"Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;"       ~ 1 Peter 5:2-3

This is one of the verses that our Pastor read and spoke about today in his sermon. While he was talking about a Pastor's and elder's job to lead the church, the Holy Spirit spoke something else to my heart. As he was breaking down the verses and explaining what it meant, I began to see myself as the shepherd and my children as my flock.

What does a shepherd do? A shepherd leads his flock. He doesn't drive the sheep in front of him, he walks in front of them and leads them. We are called to take care of our flock (children). We lead our children by feeding, protecting, and guiding them. We have a responsibility before the Lord to tend a flock that ultimately belongs to Him. We must do everything within our power to make certain that our children are living according to God's Word. We are to train them, teach them, and guide them. We are to feed them both physically and spiritually.

We are not do so out of compulsion, but do so willingly. We don't take care of our children because we have to, we do it because we are eager to do so. We lead them, guide them, and take care of their needs because we take joy in doing so and do so with a loving heart. We don't do it for gain of any type; we don't do it for monetary gain or even prideful gain. We do it to see them come to know the Lord and grow in Him. We do it to raise warriors for Christ. We do it because we want them to experience the fullness of the Lord and the joy that only He can bring.

How do we shepherd our flock? We do it by being servants, not lords. We are not their masters, but the servants that God has placed in authority over them. We teach by serving. We train by serving. We guide by serving. Remember, Christ came to serve, not be served (Matthew 20:28). By serving, we are leading by example. We become a godly role model to our children and show how to live as Christ lived. Christ set the example for us and we are to set the example for our children.

Are you a shepherd of your children? Last month I had started, but never finished reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. Having the Holy Spirit speak to me about how I am a shepherd for my children has renewed my excitement about reading that book. I will start over from the beginning in case I have forgotten anything.

I urge you to think about yourself as a shepherd. Are you leading or driving them ahead of you? Are you teaching and training by example or are you lording over them? Take some time to study these verses for yourself and see how the Holy Spirit speaks to you.