Text- Psalm 23:1 - “The Lord is my shepherd…”
King David, who authored the 23rd psalm, grew up and worked as a shepherd. This meant he knew so much about sheep, shepherd and shepherding. In Psalm 23, he expressed his love for the representation of the Lord as a shepherd.
David knew amongst many other things, that the shepherd owns the sheep, and that the sheep is a property of the shepherd. So then, the words “The Lord is my shepherd” is a statement of ownership.
Many times, we miss out on the fact that God has every right to own us, yet He created us with the free will to wither accept or reject that ownership. Sadly a lot of people have chosen not to accept or fully acknowledge God’s ownership. Just as Isaiah described in Isaiah 53:6, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."
You see, God created us for his benefit. He does not exist for our benefit. We need to clearly understand this in relating with God as our shepherd. We exist for his pleasure rather than the other way around.
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.” – Revelation 4:11
Now, I want you to imagine a Shepherd, who owns a sheep. The sheep walked astray and got missing. The shepherd then began to search for his lost sheep. He searched near and far to get the sheep back home. After a long time of searching, the shepherd found the sheep, but it was already put up for sale at an animal auction.
So now, it appears that the shepherd has to bid for the sheep (His own sheep) and pay just like anybody else. The shepherd didn’t mind; he bid for the sheep and had to pay an outrageous price, far above any reasonable market value in order to regain ownership of his sheep.
What would you say in this situation? The shepherd now has a double right of ownership over this sheep: by birth and by redemption!
God not only God has a right of ownership over us because he is our creator. He also has the right to own us because he paid a price; the blood of his own Son— an outrageous price far above our market value—in order to redeem us back again.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
We as Christians, must not be reluctant to let the whole world know that we're not our own because we're bought with a price. We must not be embarrassed to honor God with our lives, and shun unrighteousness even if it’s not the popular thing to do. It is the most delightful admission of all to declare that we are owned by God.
It is absolutely wonderful that we're able to say, "The Lord is my shepherd."
PRAYER
The Lord is my shepherd. Therefore Lord Jesus, I declare that you are my owner; I am not my own. I will forever honor you with my life.
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