Flock

Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. Ezekiel 34:2-4

When we think of flocks, we might conjure up images of sheep on the hillsides of Ireland and New Zealand or of different kinds of birds resting on the ponds in and around our communities. This is exactly how God imagined the kingdom of Israel. Ezekiel is calling attention to those who have forgotten the responsibility to be shepherds and faithful shepherds at that. Their current behavior is really one of the flocks. They are not taking their leadership and responsibility to the whole seriously. We, as Christians, must remember that we are not just one of the flocks, but we are, as Jesus and the Apostles, called to be shepherds. We are to work for the betterment of the entire kingdom. To live a life only to oneself and to our own inner desires is to fall into the trap of abusing the great gift God has given us. To be a shepherd is to deny oneself, take up our cross and follow Jesus into the world. It is not always lavish, popular, or easy, but if we do it well, we will find life and life abundant. Justin Yawn #flock #adventword