Responsibility of a Faithful Shepherd

In the East the shepherd's care for his flock was untiring and incessant. Marauders or beasts of prey lay in wait to plunder the flocks. The shepherd watched his charge at the peril of his own life. Jacob, who kept the flocks of Laban, said, “By day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.” Genesis 31:40, RSV. While guarding his father's sheep, the boy David, singlehanded, rescued the stolen lamb from the lion and the bear.HLv 324.3

A strong and tender attachment unites the shepherd to the objects of his care. Every sheep has its name and responds at the shepherd's call. So does the divine Shepherd know His flock that are scattered throughout the world. Jesus says, “I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” Isaiah 43:1. Jesus knows us individually and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows the very house in which we live. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep.HLv 325.1

Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. He came to draw all men unto Himself. He knows who gladly hear His call, and are ready to come under His pastoral care. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”HLv 325.2