Wednesday, January 18, 2017

"The Heart of the Shepherd" - Scott Parsons

Sunday I will continue looking at the passage Doug started for us last week, Galatians 4:8-20. Doug walked us through the theological and personal issues of the Galatians denying grace and seeking to secure salvation through our own efforts. This week we are going to focus less on the hearts of the Galatians and look at the heart and desires of Paul for them.

In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller says that God, as our Shepherd, “literally lays Himself out for us continually. He is ever interceding for us; He is ever guiding us by His gracious Spirit; He is ever working on our behalf to ensure that we will benefit from His care.” I’m not sure that anyone (except perhaps for David) has ever experienced or understood that reality more that Paul. Paul understood the depth of his sin; and just not his past sin! His continuing struggle with sin causes him, in Romans 7, to lament, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.” Yet, Paul’s whole life and ministry was based on his knowledge that because of the grace of his Shepherd, there was “therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

Paul also understood that the grace shown and the shepherding given to him was not simply for his benefit and enjoyment. It was his calling to take the love that God had shown him and share it with others. He was compelled by love. The passage we will look at Sunday fully exposes his shepherd’s heart for the Galatians. It is a joy to watch it unfold in these verses. But the challenge before us is that, like Paul, we are not called to simply receive grace either. We are all called to share it, and to reflect the shepherding love of God to those around us. Read through the passage carefully before Sunday. Spend some time asking God to give you His view of your heart and life. Then ask Him to give you His shepherding heart. See you Sunday.

Scott