The Folly Of The Love Of The Shepherd - The Source Of Our Hope!

There is a beautiful story from John Powel’s Unconditional Love, that brings out this image of God very powerfully:

Tommy turned out to be an atheist while attending classes in Theology of Faith. He was searching for God, but couldn’t find Him. So, he decided to quit. The last day of his class he asked his professor, John Powel, in a slight cynical tone: “Do you think I’ll ever find God?” “No”, replied the professor emphatically, and he added a little later, “Tommy, I don’t think you’ll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!” Tommy shrugged a little and left the class.

A few months later, Tommy walked into the office of the same professor, to tell him how he found God, or rather, how God had found him.

The doctors discovered that Tommy had terminal cancer. It was just a question of few weeks. And Tom’s search for God became ever stronger but God did not come out of the closed doors of heaven. So he decided never to care about God, about an after life, or anything like that. But he wanted to do something more profitable before he died. Then he remembered what his professor had told him and his class, that “the essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.

So he began with the hardest one: his dad. He was reading the newspaper when Tom approached him. “Dad…”, he said. “Yes, what?, he asked without lowering the newspaper. “Dad, I would like to talk with you.” “Well, talk.” “I mean… it’s really important.” The newspaper came down, “What is it?” “Dad I love you. I just wanted you to know that.”

The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then Tom saw two things that he had never seen his father do. He cried and he hugged him. And they talked all night. Tom felt so good to be close to his father, to see his tears, to feel his hug and to hear him say that he too loved Tom.

Tom did the same with his mother and his little brother. He felt so close to them. He was only sorry, he had waited so long. Here when he was in the shadow of death, he was just beginning to open up to all the people he had actually been close to.

When he was enjoying this atmosphere of love, he turned around and God was there. Yes he was there. God found him. Tom needed no more proofs.

My dear friends, God is the shepherd who comes after us, like the Hound of Heaven. He is so obsessed with us. When we are gone far away from Him… using our own freedom… He comes after us and finds us in ways we least expect. Isn’t this a source of Hope for us?

3. The Shepherd lays down his life for the sake of the sheep.

John 10 overflows with these phrases: “I lay down my life for my sheep. (15), I lay it down of my own free will, … I have power to lay it down.” Very telling isn’t it? God is ready to lay down his life for the sake of mere humans like us!

There was a scripture professor of mine who was fond of using a very interesting image to bring out this stupidity/absurdity of the love of God for us… much like the folly of the Shepherd. Imagine that someone of you loves cockroaches, those wretched creatures that are a nuisance in the kitchen. You really pity how wretched they are and you want to help them out. And let’s say, you have the power to become a cockroach. So you become a cockroach and you live among them. You eat like them, you talk like them, you walk like them… and then you start guiding them. You start showing them how they can live their lives fully. But alas, one day these cockroaches get tired of you and kill you!