The Good Shepherd 

   “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (Psalm 23: 1) 

   The pleasures and enticements of the world are not what is being promised in this psalm.  I should care little for those things, focusing instead on what God wants of me.  He will set me on the right path and the trials and difficulties of this life will seem lighter and easier to overcome.  He will lead me to greener pastures and finally take me home.

   I look to Genesis, to Adam and Eve, when I consider the promises of the twenty-third psalm.  There was nothing they wanted, everything they needed was readily available to them.  I can’t imagine the joy of the personal communion they had with God.  And yet they threw it all away out of pride and selfishness.

   The Lord will provide what I need if I follow Him.  Not what I might think I need or what I want, but what I truly need.  His gifts are not gifts of this world but the gifts of love and mercy.  He gives me peace and the promise of eternal life.

   St. John warned the early Christians, “As you have heard the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come.” (1 John 2: 18).  The world is full of antichrists, those who teach the ways of the world rather than the ways of God.  False shepherds are everywhere, in society, in politics and, worst of all, in the churches.  They would lead us down the path of destruction while promising all the best for us.

   There is only one Good Shepherd, Christ the Lord.  I must recognize His voice among those of the false shepherds of the world and follow Him where He leads.