“Cradled With God’s Love” – John 10:11-18 – May 3, 2009
A number of years ago, two young women boarded a ferry to cross the English Channel from England to France. About halfway through their five-hour journey, the ferry hit rough waters and a crew member told them they were experiencing some of the roughest seas of the year. The ferry tossed about rather violently on the waves, to the point where everyone, including the crew, felt ill.
At the time the ferry hit rough water, the two women were eating a light lunch in the back of the boat. They quickly put their sandwiches away. One woman said, “It’s hard to eat while you’re riding on the back of a bucking bronco.” When it became apparent that the pitching of the boat was not going to abate, one of the women decided to return to her assigned seat in the middle of the ferry. She soon fell sound asleep and experienced no more sea sickness. Toward the end of the trip, after the ferry had moved into calmer waters off the coast of France, the other woman joined her. “That was awful,” she said, “I was nauseous for two hours!”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said her friend, almost ashamed to admit that she hadn’t suffered as her friend had. “Weren’t you sick?” her friend asked. “No,” she admitted. “In this seat I must have been at the fulcrum of the boat’s motion. I could see the front and back of the boat were moving up and down but here, the motion was relatively calm. I simply imagined myself being rocked in the arms of God, and I fell asleep.” (from: Sunset with God, Honor Books, Tulsa, OK)
Life can be very unsettling all around us and we can be bounced around by life’s storms, but by keeping centered our lives will be cradled with God’s love.
God is the Great Shepherd who cares about us. God knows us and is watching over us. When God is the center of our lives we live with reassurance and hope, not fear and despair. Just as a shepherd protects his flock from the wolves, God protects us from those things in life that threaten us. When we find ourselves in the midst of a storm, we can find peace and safety by centering ourselves on God.
When we went on our very first cruise my wife was fearful of getting sick. As a precaution she went to her doctor and he prescribed a patch that keeps you from getting sea sick. Since I was in the Navy I knew that the safest place to be during a storm was mid ship. Therefore I made sure our stateroom was located in the middle of the ship. There you don’t experience the extreme motion of bouncing up and down and side to side when the weather is rough. Between the medical expertise of my wife’s doctor and my Naval experience my wife did not get sick on her first cruise. I like to think that she was cradled with God’s love.
The story of the good shepherd describes a God who cares about His people. The Greek word for “good” is kalos. Kalos also means “model” or “true.” In that sense the shepherd is one who models compassion, tending to the weak, the injured and the lost.
I counsel people who experience all kinds of crises or “storms” in their lives. They are anxious and unsettled because they live at the edge rather than the center. Sometimes life is like being on a teeter totter. The ride can be really wild if there is no balance. I believe many people are lost today because their lives are out of balance. The mission of the good shepherd is to make sure his flock gets watered and fed by day and rested by night. They also remain safe by staying with the flock. For me that means being part of the community of faith.
When a sheep strays from the flock they are living on the edge and consequently they are very vulnerable. The good shepherd goes after the lost. He is totally aware of the whereabouts of every single sheep. God knows when we are lost and attempts to nudge us back into the flock.
In the "All in the Family" daily cartoon there is one cartoon which shows the family in four squares on a summer day. In one scene, kids are hollering in the front yard, playing ball. In another the dad is mowing grass in the backyard. In a third the two younger children are arguing and shouting at each other in the house. In the fourth scene the dad comes into the house playing his pocket radio, turned up too loud to be heard over the lawnmower. About that time the mother turns to dad and says, "Listen." She goes upstairs with Dad and there they find the youngest, PJ, crying in his bed after waking up from his nap. Despite all the noise, the mother’s ears were tuned in to the cry of her youngest child.
The shepherd is tuned in to the flock. He hears our cries of despair. He is sensitive to our needs and has empathy for our pain. Although there are times when it seems as though no one is listening, God is. God hears our cries of help since God is tuned in to our problems, our trials and our tribulations. We are cradled in God’s love.
There is one phrase that appears four times in this passage. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Obviously the author is attempting to describe a God who is willing to make a tremendous sacrifice for the sake of His people.
May Lemke was nurse who was asked to take care of a young boy named Leslie who was only six months old. Leslie was mentally challenged from birth. He was blind and he had cerebral palsy. He was totally unresponsive to sound or touch. May cared for Leslie for thirty years and she accepted him as he was. During those years she taught him and loved him. Year after year she cared for him, singing to him and praying for him. May had a love of music and she and her husband bought an old piano and kept it in Leslie’s bedroom. She would push his fingers against the keys for she believed that some day God would help him break out of his prison. At age 16 Leslie began to walk. Years later, May and her husband were awakened one morning to the sound of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto, Number 1. They found Leslie at the piano with a smiling glow on his face. Shortly thereafter, Leslie began to talk, cry and sing.
Leslie was a child whose life was surrounded by many storms. Because of May Lemke’s personal sacrifice he was able to reach the center and experience God’s love. I’m sure you know of someone who has made a similar sacrifice for the sake of others. Or perhaps someone you know has made a sacrifice for you. Like the good shepherd, May Lemke cared for one of God’s little lambs.
A good shepherd is one whom we listen to, follow and trust. Their lives embody sacrifice, love and compassion. They give us encouragement, hope and quality time. They’re willing to put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.
In the midst of World War II, there was a father holding his young daughter by the hand. The building they were in was being bombed and they fled for their lives. Earlier in the day a bomb had exploded in the street and created a huge crater. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible the father jumped into the hole created by the bomb and he held up his arms, telling his daughter to jump. But she was terrified by the explosions that surrounded them. Unable to see her father because of the smoke she said, “Papa, I can’t see you.” Her father called back to her and said, “But, I can see you, honey, jump!” The little girl jumped, not because she could see her father but because her father could see her. She trusted him and took a leap of faith. The man’s daughter was cradled in the love of God.
We may not be able to clearly discern where God is always leading us, but we can trust that God is protecting us, like a good shepherd, every step of the way. God sees us, knows us, hears us and loves us. We are always cradled with God’s love.
Dr. Keith Wagner