Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life ...
GOODNESS AND MERCY
Because he was able to pitch in the Big Leagues at an age (last appearance at 58) when others had long since retired, Leroy "Satchel" Paige was often asked for his "secrets" for being active and productive as a senior citizen. One of his more famous quotes in this connection was: "Don't look back ... something might be gaining on you."
There's more than a little truth in ol' Satch's homespun philosophy -- for way too often we sinful humans hinder our forward progress by looking back with guilt and worry. But as sheep of the risen Shepherd, Jesus Christ, we Christians have far better answers to guilt and worry than keeping our eyes to the front. In Psalm 23 David pictures Christ's people as sheep who see in their risen Shepherd's tools of the trade reminders of past deliverance and rescue. "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).
When we as Christ's sheep look back and see the guilt of sins past, we should never fail to also remember our Shepherd's victory over death and the assurance of forgiveness that fact gives us (1 Corinthians 15:17, 20, 56-57). Furthermore, when things in our past give us cause for worry, we have the strongest reason to lay such thoughts aside: we have an ever-living Shepherd who promises never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
Sheep are easily frightened creatures -- and so are sinful human beings. Sheep may imagine that shadows on their back-trail are full of threats. They may even fear that wolves are stalking them when the four-legged creatures giving rise to these fears are the shepherd's helpers, his dogs. As Jesus' sheep we also find that when we look back more closely at those twin threats on our back-trail -- guilt and worry -- what we actually see is how our Savior has effectively dealt with our sin and continues to remove cause for fear by His promised presence. What dogs our steps as Christ's sheep are not the twin wolves of guilt and worry but our Shepherd's dogs ... Goodness and Mercy.
