Shepherding one another

[aron]

I am going to try to present some ideas which I have had recently about shepherding one another. And I am going to do so in a very specific context, which is what I call the School of Hard Knocks. Experience. Struggle. Failure after failure.

I was drawn to this line of thinking by two verses, which seemed to parallel one another. First was Psalm 51. David has failed, horribly. In verses 7 through 12 he gives a great catalogue of God's restoration process, appealing again and again to God's ability to bring him back out of the pit of sin.

Then, verse 13 has a remarkable declaration. "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." (KJV). David the transgressor, the sinner, will then, post-restoration, be a vehicle for God to bring back other transgressors, other sinners. God's mercy, displayed through the restored David, will be a beacon to other lost souls.

I might have dismissed verse 13 as the kind of bold declaration often made in what we call the "Old Testament" by God-fearing men according to their natural concepts. I mean, God doesn't need you, right? God is holy -- why are you, a sinner, trying to cut a deal with Him? What can you do for God? Nothing. What does He do for you? Everything. Who are you, o man, trying to wheedle a quid pro quo arrangement with the Almighty?

But here is the second verse, from what we call the "New Testament". Luke 22:32 says "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (NIV) Peter's failure, and God's merciful restoration through Jesus' intercession, became the means for Peter to shepherd others. Peter would later come across those who wavered, who faltered, and who fell. And Peter's experience of being a transgressor and a sinner would now allow him to help others similarly afflicted.

So I am thinking that an elder is simply someone who has been there, done that; and a shepherd is someone who uses that experience to help someone who comes along after them, who is facing similar peril, and/or is attempting to extricate themselves. Our hard experience of failure can help someone avoid the same trap, and/or extricate themselves if they are caught. Our unpleasant experience of failure can make someone else's experience a little less unpleasant.