Biblical Motherhood - Shepherding Your Little Flock

Motherhood is an exciting journey that refines the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. It is a ministry that sanctifies us and helps us become more like Jesus; displaying His tender compassion and care to those we love. Ephesians 5 instructs us to "imitate God in everything you do, because you are His dear children" (verse 1) and "live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ" (verse 2).

One area we can study and imitate Jesus is in the area of shepherding. Jesus is portrayed throughout the Bible as the Good Shepherd. A very poignant example of this is found in the Book of Isaiah.

In Chapter 40, Isaiah the prophet has this message for Israel:

"Tell the towns of Judah,

'Your God is coming!'

Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power.

He will rule with a powerful arm.

See, He brings His reward with Him as He comes.

He will feed His flock like a shepherd.

He will carry His lambs in His arms,

holding them close to His heart.

He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young."

~Isaiah 40:10-11

Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:11:

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep."

In John 10, Jesus describes the intimate relationship between the Good Shepherd and His flock -

🍃 The sheep recognize the Shepherd's voice and come to Him (v.3)

🍃He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out (v.3)

🍃He walks ahead of them and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice (v.4)

🍃His sheep come and go freely and find good pastures (v.9)

🍃His purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (v.10)

🍃The Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep (v.11)

🍃He cares deeply about His sheep (v.13)

In this blog post, we will discover how we, as mothers, can imitate the example of Jesus in shepherding the precious flock we've been given - the flock of our children. We will discuss qualities in Scripture that shepherds display and how these qualities relate to us gently leading our children and instructing them in the path of life. As we, the mother sheep, are gently lead by Jesus - the Good Shepherd, our young lambs will be sure to follow. This topic is of utmost importance in light of the post-Christian culture we are saturated in every day. Evil is vying for our children's minds and hearts. John 10:10 speaks about how "the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy."

My daughter currently loves Little Bear and Curious George. I found a YouTube video live-streaming Curious George episodes. Usually a kid-friendly ad pops up at the start of the video. However, this time, an ad for Tubi TV began playing - the first thing shown being the completely bare leg of a woman and a leather whip. It was an advertisement for the movie series, 50 Shades of Gray. I covered my not-even-two year old's eyes as fast as I possibly could and quickly turned it off. I'm telling you this story because it is an example of how children are being exposed to inappropriate content every single day through TV, social media, web browsing, books, etc. The world is a minefield for parents who desire to protect the innocence and purity of their children. Our job, as mother sheep led by the Good Shepherd, is to hear and follow His voice as we shepherd our children.

It is so easy for mamas to fall into self-condemnation in regards to parenting mistakes and shortcomings. I quickly want to share an illustration from John 21 so that you can see, by the abundant grace and mercy of our loving Father, all past mistakes and failings can be completely forgiven and restored.

Prior to the crucifixion, Peter vows to Jesus that he is ready to go to jail and even die with Him. Yet, Jesus tells him that Peter will deny Him. Peter is overcome with indignation and proclaims, "Even if it is necessary for me to die with you, I will never deny you!” (Matthew 26:35). As the story goes, he not only denies Jesus once, but does so three times. After Jesus' resurrection and before His ascension back to heaven, He meets with His disciples in Galilee. They have been fishing throughout the night and haven't caught anything. It is never explicitly stated in Scripture, but can be deduced from the context, that Peter has given up any hope of ministering as a disciple on Jesus' behalf because of what he has done. When he denied Christ, he forfeited his calling. He would just have to settle for being a fisherman.

Jesus appears on the shore and has prepared breakfast for His hungry disciples. He calls to them and asks if they caught any fish? They reply that they haven't and then He instructs them to throw out their net on the right-hand side of the boat. Does this ring any bells? This is very similar to the first encounter Jesus had with Peter when He called him to be His disciple and become a "fisher of men" (Matthew 4:19). The calling never changed despite his shortcomings.

They ended up catching 153 large fish that morning. Peter is the first one in the water, swimming to shore, once He realizes it is Jesus speaking to them. The big haul of fish was the first step in restoring Peter back to ministry. Jesus performed the same miracle for him then as He did when He initially called him.

After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter, "...do you love me more than these?" A lot of people translate this verse to mean does Peter love Jesus more than the other disciples sitting around him, but I believe Jesus is asking Peter if he loves Him more than these fish. The reason being, Peter decided to return to the fishing industry. He gave up on his calling in ministry because he thought he blew it. Peter replies to Jesus, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you" to which Jesus responds, "Then feed my lambs." Jesus repeats the same question twice more {equaling the same number of times Peter denied Christ} and then instructs him to "take care of My sheep" and "feed My sheep." And with that, Peter was restored to his calling by the grace of God.

In fact, years later, Peter (now a seasoned Apostle of the Church) writes, "Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2-3).

You may feel like you have blown it with your children, but it is never too late to be transformed by the renewal of your mind and the gentle leading of the Spirit. Peter is a testimony to the power of God's restoration. It is never too late to shepherd your flock in a way that is pleasing to God and nurturing to your family. Let's briefly look at the qualities good shepherds display when caring for their flock.

1. FEED THE FLOCK - "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master has put in charge of His household, to give them their food at the proper time?" -Matthew 24:45

As mothers, we have been placed in a position of leadership within our homes to care for both the physical and spiritual needs of our family. We may feel like the work we do in our households, such as dishes, cooking, cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, and so forth is simply mundane. However, when we offer our service to Christ and see it as a ministry to our families, we will be overcome with a sense of purpose. We'll realize we have a sacred opportunity to partner with Jesus in nourishing and caring for the wellbeing of our family. We get to extend the Good Shepherd's tender love and compassion to our families through our eyes (our nonverbal communication), arms (physical touch), and mouth (the words we speak). The faithful and wise servant gives the household their food at the proper time. This includes spiritual nourishment for the times we are in. It includes sharing, explaining, and teaching the Word of God to our children, as well as walking it out in our own lives. Please don't misunderstand me, we're not striving for an unattainable level of perfection. Instead, we are called to grow as we learn to know God better and better (Colossians 1:10). The goal is to imitate Christ - to grow in faith and knowledge of God's Son so that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). This is a process of sanctification that takes time, growth, and the renewal of our minds to His Word. So, please, give yourselves grace. Extend the same forgiveness and compassion you have towards your developing children to yourself. Let's take a moment to look at some practical ways you can shepherd your little flock with care and compassion...

-Care

~ providing experiences for your children to see the Father's kind-of-love in action

~ providing for physical needs such as nourishing meals, clean and suitable clothing, a peaceful, tidy, & stable home environment

~ providing opportunities and activities for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual growth & development

~ offering acts of care such as kissing ouchies, comforting fears, and consoling tears

-Compassion

~ offering your child the same love and forgiveness you need from the Lord on a daily basis

~ providing your child with the room to make mistakes and grow from them; not demanding perfection or placing unrealistic expectations on them

~ stop comparing your child and his or her abilities to other children their age

~ embrace your children in a tender and gentle way that expresses your love & care for them

2. LEAD THE FLOCK - "Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." -1 John 2:6

When the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith, he instructed him to set an example in his speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. In like manner, Paul instructs Timothy that women of faith are to continue in love and holiness, with self-control (1 Timothy 2:12-15). In Titus 2, women are instructed to "love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God" (Titus 2:4-5). Living out biblical motherhood can only be done by operating through the power of the Holy Spirit within you.

I'm not sure if you know this about sheep, but they are really active, curious, and playful. Their curiosity can sometimes lead to accidents and can try the patience of their mothers, I mean shepherds. Yes, sheep sound a lot like the adventurous kiddos you and I call our own. This is one reason why operating in the Spirit is so important because He produces the right kind of fruit in us like patience, long-suffering, self-control, and gentleness, instead of frustration and annoyance.

Another interesting fact about sheep is that they follow their leader even into bad situations. They have a flocking and herding instinct that is so strong it is followed even into danger. Aren't children the same way? They are looking to their parents for safety, protection, and security. They can't provide these things for themselves. Sadly, some family situations wreak havoc on many generations to come because of the trauma experienced by poor examples of parenting.

In summary, your example to your children matters! It matters to future generations of your family. You can choose to shepherd your children by domineering them or you can choose to gently lead them. You can choose to rule over them with force and harshness or you can choose to shepherd and guide them with a skillful hand. From your example, you can teach them by the words you speak, the way you conduct yourself, and how you live out your faith in love and purity. They will experience the love of Jesus as you imitate Him. May your imitation lovingly embrace His darling lambs {your children} as you hold them close to your heart and offer them His tender care.

3. PROTECT THE FLOCK - "...keep watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account..." - Hebrews 13:17

Mama, no one is going to love your kids like you do. Not their favorite teacher, daycare worker, babysitter, Sunday School teacher, etc. Please don't misunderstand me, we thank God for these people in our children's lives, but they don't carry the sacrificial nature that you do as their mama {or that your husband does as their father}. We have been called to fiercely protect our children; to keep watch over them. We are to be aware of the thieves and robbers trying to sneak over the wall of our protection. The people in our lives, like that favorite school teacher, who partner with us in rearing our children aren't your children's shepherds. They may not even carry the same values and beliefs that you do. They may not be aware of the schemes and devices the enemy uses to capture the minds and hearts of our children due to spiritual blindness. However, we can partner with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to be the gatekeepers of our families. We need to be aware of what our children are learning and being exposed to. We need to be vigilant over what is being searched for on phones, watched on TV, listened to in music, read in books, etc. There are people in this world who have an agenda and who want to indoctrinate our children while they are moldable and impressionable. They want nothing more than to infiltrate our children's hearts and minds with the doctrines {yes, doctrines because it is like religion to certain people} of evolution, secularism, sexuality, racism, gender identity, and so on. As the shepherd of your little flock, you are called by Jesus to protect them from wolves. In order to protect them, you need to be aware of what is going on inside and outside of your home. You may be busy, overworked, tired...but there is no room for complacency because the thief is in attack mode with the sole purpose of stealing, killing, and destroying. Look to Jesus for guidance, wisdom, and discernment. You are His sheep and you know His voice. You hear His voice and follow Him. Remember, He promises to"...gently lead the mother sheep with their young." -Isaiah 40:11

I hope this has been an insightful post that encourages you to shepherd your children in the example of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. I'd love to hear your thoughts below. Leave me a comment and let me know some practical ways you shepherd your children. Also, if you feel like I may have left out something important, share it with me below. Many blessings over your home and flock! 🏡🐑🌾