READ: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” – Isaiah 40:11
Shepherds in God’s house must watch out for the soul, mind and the heart of the sheep. Perhaps it is by being a farmer that you would understand the need to watch out for the innermost workings of the sheep God has given you. Being a shepherd is the same as being a farmer.
A farmer once told me of how he spent his savings to purchase some day-old chicks for his chicken farm. He said to me, “After I purchased these day-old chicks I fed them earnestly and watched for them to grow, but they failed to grow.”
He told me, “I tried everything I could. I got the vet to come. I gave them extra food. I gave them vitamins. I spent so much money on these chickens but they simply did not grow!”
What this poor farmer did not know was that there was something inherently wrong with the chicks. He had purchased chicks that did not have the ability to grow. The chickens had a problem with their “soul”. They were “abnormal chicks” who lacked the normal ability to grow.
Another farmer told me how his pigs simply did not grow in spite of all that he did to make them grow.
These farming problems are the reasons why a shepherd must constantly watch out for the soul, mind and heart of the sheep. He is looking to see if there is something wrong deep inside. It is the deep inner problems of the members of Christ’s body that prevent them from growing spiritually