By Holly Culhane
Hanging out with our 8-year-old grandson where the waves meet the shore is an absolute joy. He loves to collect shells and stones, and ooh’s and aah’s over every treasure he finds. I hear “Gaga, would you please hold this for me?” when his pockets are full to the brim. “Oh, Bella, look at this one!”, he often exclaims to his older sister, before he has even pocketed the last treasure he uncovered just moments before. He loves the gems he finds, and they are truly precious to him.
When we visited the coast of Rhode Island together, he wanted to keep nearly every one of his finds. We carried as many back to our campsite as possible, bags and pockets overflowing. He immediately and enthusiastically requested a large bowl so he could wash his discoveries and examine them carefully.
There was a different reaction, however, when it was time to decide which of these cherished pieces of God’s creation would stay, which would travel back home with us, and how they would be kept safe during the journey. To do so meant he would need to sacrifice doing something else he enjoyed, to care for the treasures he said he so highly valued. After all, playing soccer with new friends or digging through the ground looking for bugs (another of his much-loved past times) were pretty important endeavors.
In life, we must often sacrifice a desire we have – even if it is something that seems good – for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
— John 10:11
Jesus had to do that, too. Over and over again, He sacrificed His own will for the will of the Father. Whether it was leaving Heaven to live on this earth, choosing obedience in every decision and situation, or willingly being tortured to die in our place for our sins, He sacrificed what He wanted for what the Father asked Him to do.
Sacrifice is the great price He paid for those He considered priceless, and sacrifice is one of the reasons He is called the Good Shepherd. Because good shepherds always sacrifice their own preferences, their own desires, and their own will for the good of the sheep, even in the toughest decisions and in the hardest of choices.
We, too, must choose sacrifice. We must choose to seek the pearl of great price, the extraordinary worth of the Kingdom of God, over all else.
We must choose sacrifice for what we consider priceless, a relationship with the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd and living a life of obedience that honors our Lord, above even what we consider to be the beautiful shells and stones in our own lives. Because that is what it means to be shepherd well those entrusted to our care.
DIGGING DEEPER QUESTIONS:
- When in your daily or weekly schedule do you spend time in God’s Word? How does reading God’s Word influence how you live?
- How have you demonstrated sacrifice that honors the Father… in the words you use as you lead, the thoughts on which you focus when you’re alone, the books you read to grow your mind, the conversations you have with other leaders, the company you keep, and the way you use your time?
- How do you struggle with prioritizing whatever you consider to be the “shells and stones” in your life, over seeking the True Pearl of great price?
