If you're a pastor I'm sure the selfish shepherds of Ezekiel 34 bother you. Are your agendas God's agendas? Are you more concerned about the real needs of the church or the people who make up the church? Wicked shepherds are not limited to being thieves. They may simply have an agenda that is not the Lord's.
Adam was asked, "Did the Lord really say ..." Wickedness is as simple as going your own way, choosing to do what seems to be right instead of what you know is right, and taking the wide and easy way instead of the narrow, hard way. There is a way that seems natural to man that leads to destruction.
In Ezekiel 34 God says to those shepherds, "You have not brought back the strayed …" I am not a Universalist and I don’t believe everyone will be saved. “Lord, Lord, did we not …” comes to mind and other verses as well. Still, if God had God’s way, everyone would be saved, but God doesn’t have God’s way because God gave us free will.
We have the freedom to choose God or not, to choose life or not. A terrible price is paid every day so that we might have that choice to choose. In the verse above the strayed are still called God’s sheep. Are we not all God’s sheep?
So then, is it not better, safer to be a sheep than a shepherd? That depends. The 33rd chapter of Ezekiel talks about sentinels; watchmen who stand guard to warn if the enemy draws near. If they warn someone and the person does what they want anyway, than the sentinel is not responsible for that person. However, if they do not warn the person and the person loses their life than their blood will be on the sentinel's head. After all, the Bible says we are 'all' our brother's keeper.
What does warning look like? Before seminary it bothered me when I was told, often, that I was not an aggressive evangelist, that helping people to know God was not a passion in my life. Over and over in seminary I was asked why I wanted an M-Div if I did not want to be a preacher.
With each passing day I want to draw closer to the Lord. That is my passion. If I can think the way the Lord wants me to think, say what the Lord wants me to say and do what the Lord wants me to do than those around me will be impacted by the Holy Spirit.
I believe I am a watchman when I lead the lifestyle God wants me to live; when I honor and respect those who think differently, talk differently, act differently and believe differently than I do. My passion, the desire of my heart is to love God with all my strength and all my heart. Drawing closer to God means drawing closer, not farther apart from others. I need to work on loving God so I can love others. The early church was known by their love. I have a long way to go.
Drawing people to God is the work of the Holy Spirit. I don't believe the Holy Spirit waits for missionaries. After all, where is God not present? God is not present when shepherds and watchmen take it upon themselves to be God.
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