Redemptive family in His pasture—Reality #1: We belong to Him . . . together!
“Belongingness” develops in His pasture system—a system that consists of a barn (or sheepfold, see John 10:1) and the pastures of our lives (our households, jobs, schools, communities, friendships, hobbies, hardships, etc.). This poem below expresses well the shalom of our Good Shepherd’s pasture system:
“Sabbaths 2014 – V” by Wendell Berry (from the book, A Small Porch) The silence of the barn at evening, when the shepherd draws shut the door and starts home for the night, is heavenly, for it says almost aloud that every lamb is found, every ewe has found her lamb and is feeding, and is content.
There is another of the barn’s silences that is heavenly also, for it says that the ewes and their young ones now are gone from it to new pasture, the now-green, the first-grown grass of the spring, and they are delighted, the shepherd delighted with their delight.
As I think about the opportunity to be Redemptive family in His pasture!, the first stanza represents the safety of the barn (or sheepfold). The “evening” marks a new beginning in our belonging—a new creation day patterned like the first days of creation (evening and morning, see Genesis 1:5). The “shut” door provides us security in belonging to Him together. The “silence” that is “heavenly” reflects the holiness permeating the atmosphere. That “every lamb is found” speaks to being known by name, echoed in the connection between “ewe” and “her lamb.” Belonging in the barn means “feeding,” being nourished and “content.” Gratitude characterizes our response to such a joyful reality of belonging to Him together in the barn.
Then we encounter a second stanza which takes us beyond the barn, which is “heavenly also”—”from it to new pasture, the now-green, the first-grown grass of the spring.” The secure attachment from the barn between “the ewes and their young ones” helps us freely follow Him together into newness of life, which we can hold out as hope to others we meet with in the pastures of our lives. Belonging to Him together exemplifies double “delight”—His and ours!
Dr. Jim Wilder (neurotheologian and ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene) and Michel Hendricks highlight this process of joyful belonging (from the book, The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation):
“Increasing joy will involve improving our relational skills, training our brain, and getting involved in tightly bonded community . . . When our bodies can feel the glow of Jesus’ face shining on us, our joy capacity grows. As our joy grows, our faces shine on each other, which makes other people feel joy. When we throw in some intentional practices to magnify joy, we are on the way to creating a high-joy community.”
May we experience in our lives “a high-joy community”—the reality of belonging to Him together as Redemptive family in His pasture!