Practicing good shepherds

John the Elder in I John 3 says, “We know love by this, that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”

We who learn to follow the Good Shepherd are good shepherds.  As we receive mercy and love, we practice what we have learned.  Followers of the Good Shepherd lay down their lives, trusting that whatever they release will be raised up in the same Spirit with which Christ arose.

Those who find strength in such “weakness” have found the unending source of hope, mercy, and love in Christ.  Likewise, the community which finds hope in faithfully releasing its compulsions is grounded in the same Spirit of Christ’s love.

May we be mindful of and draw courage from our grounding in the Spirit of the Good Shepherd.  Thanks be to God.