This is the first of seven
devotions and music videos
with the theme of Faithfulness
devotions and music videos
with the theme of Faithfulness
THE SHEPHERD VERSUS THE HIRELING
by
Kent & Rebecca Cooley
(Adapted from John 10:11-13)
by
Kent & Rebecca Cooley
(Adapted from John 10:11-13)
My uncle was a Lt. Colonel and Chaplain in the Army and served tours in Vietnam. We use to enjoy hearing stories of his service to his country. He use to tell us about spending time with the soldiers and getting to know them. He would eat meals with the enlisted men and spend time with the soldiers who missed their families instead of joining the company of the officers and the more elite. He tells of stories of holding wounded men on the battlefield and waiting with them until they were rescued and taken to the hospital. Because he was a chaplain, he could have been exempt from the battlefield. He could have served in the capacity of his office far from the line of fire. He chose to be with the men who needed him. He chose to not leave them when they were under fire and in danger. He put himself in situations that he could have avoided for the sake of the soldiers whom he loved.
Uncle Nevin was not a hireling. He was a shepherd. His assignment was to care for the men who were risking their lives on the battlefield. A shepherd that regards his flock would risk his own life to defend them. When the wolf comes, a dedicated shepherd would still remain to protect them. To give his life means the same as not to fly, or to forsake his flock and to be willing to expose his life, if necessary, to defend them.
Love is brave. Love is loyal. There is a loyalty that the shepherd has for the sheep. Love is not cowardly. There is no fear in love. Love is not a hireling. A hireling cares only about himself.
I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His own life for the sheep. But the hired servant, who merely serves for wages, who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away. And the wolf chases and snatches them and scatters the flock. Now the hireling flees because he merely serves for wages and is not himself concerned about the sheep and cares nothing for them.
Lord, thank you for the security and comfort You bring in these words. I can only imagine the comfort and security Uncle Nevin brought to the soldier who lay wounded in a foreign and dangerous place as he held his hand and waited with him for a helicopter to come and take him to safety. I feel comforted knowing that You are the Good Shepherd of my family and You care for us and keep us from the danger of the enemy. Lord, I don’t want to be a hireling. I want to fulfill the assignment You have given me in the role of a shepherd and not a hireling.
RebeccaACooley
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
(Adapted from John 10:11-13)
Chorus:
I am the Good Shepherd
I lay down my life for the sheep
I am the Good Shepherd
I am not a hireling
Verse 1:
The hired hand merely serves for wages
He is not the shepherd
He is not the owner
When he sees the wolf coming
He runs for his life
The wolf chases
The wolf snatches
The wolf scatters the flock
But . . .
Verse 2:
I know I recognize my own and my own know recognize me
Even as the Father knows me and even as my Father
© LoveWalkPublishing WordsAndMusic by KentCliffordCooley
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