Is He really the Good Shepherd?
Oct 5th, 2008 by Gordon
Years ago, someone wrote a book about the Twenty-third Psalm that became very popular. If my memory serves me right, it was supposedly written by a shepherd. I never read the book because the author claimed that a shepherd breaks the legs of sheep who keep wandering off, and I wasn’t interested in reading a book that shows God as a cruel abuser. But, it’s amazing how many Christians accept and buy into ideas from popular teachers that sound religious and spiritual, but defy God-given human decency.
Has anyone ever thought about how cruel and inhumane a shepherd would be to break the legs of a poor sheep? (Where are the animal activists when you need them?) Besides, that would mean that now the sheep is a liability to the shepherd rather than an asset. On the human side - would a father break the leg of his child who keeps wandering off? If he did, CPS and the police would be at his door to remove the child to a safer home! But, religion loves to make God into a mysterious deity who somehow is exempt from decency.
There are even worship songs about God breaking people’s legs! How can you worship someone who just broke your freaking leg and then claims it is because they love you? Does a child worship a Dad who just slapped him across the room and then says he did it out of love? What kind of pervert-god have we created? But, apparently this cruel god idea sells books to religious people!
Israel wasn’t even allowed to break any bones of their Passover Lamb sacrifice; nor were the legs of Jesus as our Passover Lamb broken when He was crucified. It’s obvious that God isn’t into breaking legs, especially of sheep.
The book also pointed out that the ‘rod’ of the shepherd was the rod of correction to beat the poor sheep into obedience. What kind of cruelty is that? Only abusers beat others into submission.
No, when I read Psalm 23, I see the character of a truly GOOD Shepherd who loves His sheep and does everything to take care of them. The whole thing is positive in my understanding - He provides; He protects us from our enemies (the real purpose of the shepherd’s rod is to beat off the wolves); and he even rescues us from danger with the crook of His shepherd’s staff. To top it all off, goodness and mercy pursue me - literally, chase me down - all the days of my life!
The twenty-third Psalm has no indication of sheep ever wandering off, but rather they follow the Good Shepherd who leads them through life and takes extraordinary care of them in every circumstance. He isn’t a cowboy driving cattle; He’s a Shepherd leading His sheep.
Jesus - the Good Shepherd Himself - told this parable about lost sheep:
What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ (Luke 15)
No indication of discipline or breaking of legs here - only rejoicing! In the story of the Prodigal that follows, the Father did not discipline or punish his wayward son, but instead restored him to full family sonship status and celebrated with a feast. But, the other son was amazed that Father did not punish or discipline the wayward brother.
Finally, Jesus Himself said that His sheep know His voice and they FOLLOW Him. He didn’t say they keep wandering off. If you are a sheep who keeps wandering off, then perhaps you need to reconsider whether you are truly one of the Good Shepherd’s sheep. We tend to run away from those we fear, not the ones we love.
Get yours today!
Very good! Thank you for writing about how Good our Shepherd is.
What a comfort to know God is good all the time.
I understand where you’re coming from, but from personal experience, I know that God is indeed a good shepherd, and pain is God’s microphone to a deaf world. How can we say that God loves our comfort more than our well-being? He is such a multi-faceted, mystical god, and it is very tempting to sometimes think of him as ONLY compassionate and gentle, but he is God, and he is bigger than our concepts of him. I agree with the story of the good shepherd breaking the legs of the continuously straying sheep. Especially the part after he breaks the sheep’s legs and carries him on his back. For he wounds but he also binds up. The idea of “breaking legs” doesn’t always have to be as intense as it sounds. It could be equivalent to a pet fish dying or a simple cold. Other times it could be even worse. Whatever it takes to make us realise that God is breaking us and removing these illusions we have put up for ourselves that say we can somehow be independent from him.
God bless.
sj -I understand what you are saying, because I had the same view of God for many years as an Evangelical Christian. When I finally realized that the God I thought I knew was actually the God Christianity had created, I had to get honest with how really ludicrous & dysfunctional my theology was. I understood why the lives of Christians are really no different than the lives of non-believers.
Now, after getting to know who God really is, I understand why accusing God of being the progenitor of suffering is an insult to His true nature. Any so-called parent who first injures his child, and then claims it was done in love is seriously deranged, whether the abuser is human or divine. That form of abuse is ungodly by anyone’s definition. Anyone who believes that God abuses His children for some higher purpose, does not really know God - or the Good Shepherd.
I have also learned that consistent with His grace and His love for man, God always appears to us according to our own individual perception of His character. When i was a legalist, God was my judge. As I grew in knowledge and grace, God became less judgmental and more caring.
But, now I know God as always Love and goodness and Life - abundant Life. But, sometimes the old ideas creep back in and I find myself briefly anticipating a harsh response from God due to my actions. Then, I am reminded of His unconditional Love and how that characteristic alone can never allow Him to do anything but good and blessing for me. Then, my heart is flooded with gratitude, and my experience becomes more peaceful, joyful and loving as well. I never experience God ‘breaking’ me nor ‘chastising’ me nor bringing ‘trials & tribulations’ my way anymore. So, God appears to me as the God of Love and Peace and Joy that He truly is.
God hasn’t changed - He never can change His true nature. But, since our perceptions are all different, He appears to us what we perceive Him to be. Therefore, it is to our advantage to know the true nature of God, rather than some religious idea of God. Because, we get what we expect from God. “According to your faith (beliefs) be it done to you” (Matthew 9:29)
[This is the basis for all of Jesus' miracles, from something as simple as changing water into wine, to raising the dead. Jesus got what He expected to get - what He 'saw' the Father do; all of it based on His knowledge that God is always Good. Jesus never told someone that they couldn't be healed because God was using their affliction to 'break' them or to teach them something. In fact, so many people in that culture were sick, crippled and oppressed because of their religious concept of God - a false perception of His Father that Jesus was sent to correct. "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father."]
Even Quantum Physics says that sub-atomic particles become whatever the observer expects to see. “Reality as we experience it is constantly being created freshly at every moment, out of this pool of possibilities.” (Dr. Jeffrey Satinover) In our Creator’s universe, the observer ‘creates’ the object observed. We create our own life experience, including our ‘relationship’ with God. How we ’see’ God will determine how we think He sees us - in need of ‘correction’ or righteous and loved. That is what is so incredible about God.
“When man ceases to accept suffering as from the hand of God, he will cease to experience it.” (Michele O’Donnell)
I pray that you may embark on your own journey to knowing the true nature of God.
The breaking of the leg is only a symbol that we all need discipline. I agree that God is Love and peace and His nature of this is pasted from Gen. to Rev. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” However the scripture is clear from Gen. to Rev. “he who spares the rod hates his son.” for example and scriptures like this show that God does not just sit up in heaven and pat everyone on the head and say “that’s ok, just keep trying.” Time and time again we see Israel wander away from God’s commands and His “perfect loving plan of blessings” for them and He ALLOWS other nations to destroy yes and even kill them to bring them to repentance. People tend to focus on the negative side of God’s discipline and forget that He doesn’t want to discipline us in the first place (just as I NEVER wanted to spank my children) but when we wonder off from His blessed plan, the plan that gives us life and blessings, He corrects us. I hope you see my heart in this writting. I’m not saying He is a bad God, but that He is a God that loves us enough to nudge us back to the fold when we wonder. P.S. the broken leg? I believe it’s NOT for the one that makes simple mistakes in this life but the HABITUAL sin that a Christian KEEPS wandering and putting the sheep in danger by wandering.
David - First of all, thank you for your comments. And I do understand the heart of your comment. I think the disagreement here is over HOW God corrects or teaches His children - HOW does God get us to the life He intends for us? Is it through disciplinary action, whether mild or harsh? Or, does He use the Holy Spirit to lead us into truth, as Jesus taught?
“He is a God that loves us enough to nudge us back to the fold when we wander” you said. This is consistent with the Good Shepherd using His crook to guide us. But, that is far more gentler than breaking the legs or inflicting harm on the sheep.
But, the point of my article is that our life experience is the direct result of what we believe, especially our beliefs about God and about us. Those who ‘know’ God as Disciplinarian and man as fallen and in need of correction, will experience this cycle of discipline. As you pointed out, this was constantly the experience of those in the Jewish religion as recorded in their writings, and is still their belief to this day. This erroneous belief is what caused disagreements between Jesus and the Pharisees.
My own life used to be an experience of sin/repentance cycles, because I used to know God as rewarder/punisher. But, the fact remains that those who know God as Love and Goodness, and understand the full meaning of the Good News (Gospel) that Jesus presented, have a life experience free of disciplinary actions or suffering.
I am aware that this is not a popular viewpoint among Traditionalists, Evangelicals or Fundamentalists, but the fact remains that the traditional Christian view of God (as well as the Jewish view) does not produce the Life that God intended for mankind - the Abundant Life that Christ restored to humanity.
The Christian view of God is really no different than the pagan gods who must be appeased or obeyed in order to avoid punishment or discipline. No matter how it is redefined, spiritualized, or justified, a God who inflicts suffering on mankind still makes Him the source of evil, and the Abuser of His own creation.
So, it is to our advantage to shed religious views of God as rewarder/punisher (disciplinarian) in favor of God as Blesser and Lover, so we can experience the Abundant Life that Jesus died to procure. We live what we believe.
I reiterate the quote from above: “When man ceases to accept suffering as from the hand of God, he will cease to experience it.” (Michele O’Donnell)
Christ has set us free to live in the law of the Spirit of Life where we are declared righteous; or we can live in the cause/effect, reward/punishment Law of sin & death, where we need discipline and correction. It’s our choice. I choose Life, rather than Law.
[quote]How can you worship someone who just broke your freaking leg and then claims it is because they love you?[/quote]
Ask David. Psalm 51 specifically vs 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
This is not physical breaking of bones, but a metaphor to compare spiritual brokenness. Discipline is painful at the moment but done for your good.
Job 5:17 Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
Proverbs 10:17 He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
I’m sorry, Scott, but quoting Bible verses doesn’t answer the question. You quoted - “the Lord … punishes everyone he accepts as a son” from Hebrews 12:6. That makes absolutely NO sense to me - why God feels the need to punish His sons. Apparently, Christ accomplished nothing.
I once was an Evangelical Literalist (even a Fundamentalist in the beginning) who only had Bible passages to explain God. But, then I woke up and discovered God. Subsequently, I also woke up to who I am IN God (or in Christ).
As I have explained more than once - if we choose to view God according to the ancient Old Testament understanding of a Rewarder/Punisher, then we will certainly experience a life of ‘discipline’ and ‘correction’ and apparently according to the passage above, ‘punishment.’ But, if we know God and His true nature, we will understand that we have no need of this brutality, being accepted as beloved and righteous.
“When man ceases to accept suffering (or discipline) as from the hand of God, he will cease to experience it.”(Michele O’Donnell) Obviously, as long as man continues to see God as the One who disciplines us - breaks our legs, even metaphorically - man will continue to suffer discipline or ‘hard times’ in his life experience.
I know from personal experience just how difficult it is for Evangelicals to know the Father that Jesus presented until we humble ourselves and recognize that what we know about God may not be the complete truth. Then, we can begin to answer the big questions - like What God Wants”.
I bless you in your search, Scott.