Читать книгу The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom on Earth - Dallas Willard, Dallas Willard - Страница 12

The kind of life David describes in Psalm 23 is one bathed in shalom, or “peace,” which proceeds from understanding that Yahweh, the Lord, is a shepherd and hence a provider, protector, teacher, and loving host. The shepherd is one of the oldest and most enduring of Hebrew metaphors (Gen. 49:25; Pss. 77:21; 80:2; 95:7). What David understood and experienced was the reality of knowing a loving, attentive, present, powerful, and purposeful guide for his life. Our greatest assurance and soul-filling hope is that the Lord, Yahweh, is our shepherd. It is because of this simple, yet endlessly profound reality that we can begin to understand our place in the world and the joy that is ours forever.

The shepherd’s vocation is largely lost on us today. There is an intimacy in shepherding. Shepherds know their sheep because they are with them all day, every day, for weeks on end, in solitary places. They learn the actions, habits, and preferences of their flock through constant oversight. They protect, feed, direct, and correct the sheep continually, developing a bond, perhaps even a love of their flock. Jesus says, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11), something that David knew was part of his responsibilities as well. As a result, the sheep respond and are benefited. Without a shepherd they are lost, in danger, and unable to endure the realities of the wild. To think of the Lord as a shepherd is to come to understand the intensely personal, comforting, attentive, and providing nature of God’s love and care for his flock of humanity.

A first step on this journey of the Psalm 23 way of living is to confess that much of our resistance in placing our confidence (faith) in a Good Shepherd stems from the fear that God cannot or will not provide for us in times of great need or despair. Frequently this is a product of the belief that God simply is not good or that at least there are events on his “résumé” that put his character in question. This is often the tragic result of a significant trauma caused by bad theology; it simply should not stand. In fact, Psalm 23 speaks directly in opposition to such dismal theology. It is plainly foolhardy and oxymoronic to believe God is anything but perfectly good. The kingdoms of our world, including many religious kingdoms, run on doctrinal fear the way the kingdom of God runs on grace. Perfect love casts out fear, as will the love of a good shepherd. This image, of the Good Shepherd as Jesus describes him, is a far cry from the sort of vengeful, red-eyed, wrath-soaked Zeuslike deity popular with some. There is simply no reason to believe anything bad about God.