He Shall Gently Lead Those That Are With Young

¹“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11). “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15). Jesus's invitation to feed His lambs may have been given directly to Peter but it applies to all of us. There are a lot of lambs out there. Whether they are physically young, or young in their understanding or in their ability to make wise choices or in their opportunities to do good in the world, if they are lambs in any way, shape, or form, then we are invited to feed and to nurture and to minister to them. There are lots of good reasons why we should do this. The Lord has invited, even commanded us to love and to watch over them. When we love and serve them, we are doing the same to our Savior. By taking care of those who are in great need, often our own needs are also taken care of. But Isaiah gives us another compelling reason. The Good Shepherd gently leads those who are with young. If we feel like we have been dragged out into stormy waters and are generally having a real rough go of it, then we have a solution. As long as we find and take care of some of those lambs that are out there, then while we are focused on improving their lives, God will lead us gently as long as we are with the lambs. Let's all try and make our own lives easier by finding the young and the weak and the feeble and seeing to their needs so that God can see to ours.