BIBLICAL FATHERHOOD--THE GREAT NEED OF THE WORLD 1) THE SHEPHERDING FATHER (New Series).

Psalm 23:1 says, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Men, shepherding is synonymous with fatherhood, for both terms imply the feeding and raising of sheep and lambs. Biblically speaking, all God's children are His sheep. Psalm 79:13 says, "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever."

Having been born and raised in New Zealand I am very familiar with sheep. My father had more than a thousand sheep, especially when the new lambs were born.

There is one very important truth regarding sheep and that is that sheep need to have a shepherd. God created sheep to be very dependant. They cannot survive, especially among predators, without a shepherd. Another truth is that if sheep are to be healthy and do well, they need to have a good shepherd. Not all shepherds are good ones.

Fathers, we are Under Shepherds. We are under the reign of the Great Shepherd of the sheep who wants to shepherd His lambs through us. For this reason Psalm 23 is a precise manual on what a good shepherd is like and how he cares for all those in his charge, including his wife. If a pastor/shepherd is not a good shepherd to his own wife and family, he has no right to be pastoring a church.

When the sheep and lambs can boldly declare that the Lord is their Shepherd you can be assured that their fathers are doing their shepherding well. If the fathers are not directing the children's affections towards the Good Shepherd, how can they say the Lord is their Shepherd who takes care of all their needs through their father?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell