“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29 (NIV)
God loves us as we are, but He also sees our potential, since we are all brothers and sisters of Christ. He wants to mold and conform us into the image of His son, making us the best version of ourselves. We were all made for more than we realize, and God uses everything that happens in our lives, whether good or bad, as part of the process to transform and renew our minds.
It’s only natural to ask God to remove or change each problem situation, but what if God is using that difficult situation to transform and change us for the good? Even through the most painful experiences, the Lord wants to renew our minds and conform us to Christ, as today’s scripture tells us.
The renewal of our mind brings out the shepherd like tendencies that are already deep within each of us. If Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, and we are being conformed to His image, that makes us His mini shepherds. Whether we know it or not, those shepherd like tendencies give us the urge to seek, lead and nurture God’s sheep. When we find ourself praying for the sick, comforting the broken, visiting the lonely or helping to redirect lost sheep, God is bringing out the mini shepherd within us, by sending specific sheep into our pasture.
After Stephen, my husband, died of ALS, I thought about people who are either caregivers as I was or who are going through grief after loss. I had the desire to publish a book of 50 meditations, with the subtitle, “Fifty days of comfort after loss. “If I hadn’t gone through that difficult period, I never would even think of writing a book on that topic. I haven’t yet published a book but I do post the meditations on a website, called KissedtheSpirit.com.
Three years after Stephen passed away, my good friend of fifty years, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I recently wrote about how rapidly her illness progressed. I remember thinking how important it is to be a good friend, rather than to have a good friend. My visits to her in those last days were very meaningful for both of us. God uses every sorrow, loss and adversity in our lives, to further transform us into mini shepherds.
His ways are so far above our ways.
Since my adult son, Jon, had a traumatic brain injury in 2023 from a motorcycle accident, I visit his Nursing Facility each week. One day, I looked around the Day room and saw people sitting alone, like lost sheep, most of whom never receive a single visit from anyone. Then the words of Jesus just came to my mind,
“I was sick and you visited me”. (Matthew 25:36) I instantly realized that those Nursing home residents were the sheep that God brought into my pasture.
The Holy Spirit is in a constant process of renewing our minds, and conforming us into the image of Jesus, our Shepherd. We can see how He is working in humanity all around us, when we hear stories of people who help others. God will always bring people into our pasture, we don’t have to look for them.
Mother Teresa is one of the best examples of a human person shepherding those in her pasture. She cradled in her arms about 16,000 dying people in Calcutta over the span of her ministry. Someone once asked her how she converted so many dying people, who only knew the religions of India. She said that she asked each person as they were dying in her arms, “Do you want to give your life to Christ ?” and they responded by asking, “Who is Christ, is He like you?”
What a beautiful question. It is the essence of our Christian faith. God intended for us to live in such a way that the world can see Christ in us. Thousands who she held in her arms never heard the gospel or read one single verse of scripture, but they gladly received Jesus Christ, because they felt His love, while being held in her arms.
To allow ourselves to become His body on earth, is at the heart of being a mini shepherd. There may be sheep who God has sent into our pasture, who are looking at us today and wondering,
“Who is Christ? Is He like you?”
We are all mini shepherds of Jesus in this world and we can answer that question by how we choose to put love into action. We can become His voice, His eyes, His hands, His feet, and His body on earth, until He returns again.
Lord, renew our minds and help us to be your mini shepherds, and to see people through your eyes, so that they can see You in us. Amen
