I have been reading Phillip Keller’s book “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23” and I have reached the chapter on “Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
Mr. Kellor relates to us in this chapter the lifelong blessings we can experience if the Lord is Our Shepherd. Blessings when we are on the mountain top and when we are in the valley. The Holy Spirit is there to work within us and through us to share and spread the goodness and mercy that He blesses us with.
Mr. Kellor talks a lot about sheep management from a shepherd’s view point. He was one in Africa and in the United States. He tells about sheep and how beneficial and how harmful sheep can be based on the way the shepherd manages their grazing times. Sheep can lay waste to pastures by overgrazing or if they are managed correctly and moved as needed they can provide one of the richest fertilizers produced by any livestock. Their grazing can insure that what is left behind brings new life and fertile green fields.
Based on their Shepherds management they leave goodness behind them. In our lives if we base all that we do on our Shepherds management, we too can leave behind much goodness. We can leave behind fertile ground for the Holy Spirit to nurture and grow God’s blessings of goodness and mercy.
We have a Good Shepherd to lead us and guide us so that we can be His example of Goodness and Mercy in this world. Scripture tells us that Jesus went about doing good and so should we. There is a spirit that leads us to show goodness and mercy to all we meet. That spirit is our Good Shepherd and we must follow Him.
Have a blessed day spreading goodness and mercy wherever you graze,
Pastor Randy
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 