I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me … I will lay down my life for my sheep. John 10: 14-15

As a child, the first piece of Scripture I ever memorized was Psalm 23.  Those  first five words, "The Lord is my shepherd," are so engrained in my memory that I cannot imagine not knowing them.  Growing up as a city kid, I didn't have many opportunities to see either sheep or shepherds, but I have known for a long time that I had a relationship with Christ like that of a sheep to its shepherd.

Within that relationship resides the beauty of our faith. For our faith is not blind, nor is it childish and irrational belief in something that cannot be seen. Our faith is alive and as real as a shepherd sitting on an ancient hillside, his hand on the napes of our necks and his eyes never resting as he scans the flock in search of danger. Our faith is about this kind and ever-loving shepherd who has claimed us for his own, knows us by name and has, in fact, already sacrificed his life for our own.

Lord, be my shepherd and my guide.

Steve Givens