When we become Christians, we become part of God's family. Bible truths are often compared to human life. In this case, we are comparing God's family to a human family--a good human family! Because of the effects of sin, all families are less than perfect, but some are far from what God intended. But I think we all know how a good family should behave. Likewise, this is how we in God's family should behave.
- The Father loves us. Chapter 4 made this point clearly.
- We love the Father. v. 1
- We love the other children. v. 1
- We obey the Father whose commandments are not burdensome. vv, 2-3
- We will have opposition when we love and obey the Father. v. 4
- We can be victorious through our faith, and our faith must be in Jesus the Son of God. v. 4-5
Psalm 23:1
This psalm is often read a funerals, and this is appropriate, but in reality, its message is for us--the living!
Jesus died for us and today He cares for us in the way that a shepherd cares for his sheep. Can you say, "The Lord is MY shepherd"? You can if you've placed your faith in Jesus and what He has done for you.
And so we have the best possible shepherd! He never gets weak or old and tired like a human shepherd might. He has all knowledge about us and our circumstances. His love is unconditional and perfect. He has the resources to provide for us and the strength to protect us. And so we can then say "I shall not want." "I have all I need."
This psalm does not focus on the characteristics of the sheep. Such characteristics are not very complimentary, I'm afraid. Rather, it focuses on the Shepherd. When we're wise sheep, we follow Him in complete trust and obedience.
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