7 Ways to Tend Your Flock
“…Tend the flock in your midst…”
1 Peter 5:1-11
Who’s in your flock? In
this life, none of us is an island unto ourselves. We have many people in our
lives and different roles in this life: Child, parent, spouse, brother, sister,
niece, nephew, friend, even acquaintance… And every relationship is beautifully
unique. These relationships we have with the people in our lives, some new,
some lifelong, offer so many opportunities to practice patience, to help and
love others unconditionally, and even forgive them as needed. In reality, some people
we treasure and some we don’t. Yet, as Christians, we are called to love them
all to the best of our abilities—which as we all know, at times, is no small
task!
At times, our greatest
temptation is to think we have little in common with other people, while
focusing on our differences. However, we must find a way to normalize
commonality. That is, to find a bond of some kind, even if it is just a family
bond or ones faith. No, we may not like everyone who enters our life, but we
are mandated by Jesus to love them all the same. Divine providence has a lot to
do with who comes into your life, and that is how one’s flock comes into being.
7 Ways to Tend Your Flock
1)
Understand that relationships are most
often mutually beneficial in some way.
2)
Accept that God has given you your flock
for a reason.
3)
Always look for common ground with others.
4)
Practice patience with those who are
difficult to love.
5)
Pray daily for the flock in your midst.
6)
Be quick to forgive others who hurt or
offend you.
7)
Try your level best to love others as God
loves you--unconditionally.
When you take a minute to
look at your own flock, the comrades God has provided for you on your journey,
it can be a little daunting, even baffling. We don’t always get to choose the
people in our life, and may even struggle to accept or reach out to them. Some
we find truly difficult to love, others we can hardly live without in our daily
lives. We may even feel we have nothing in common with them. But there are no
coincidences in this life, when we look at those closest to us, especially family
members from birth.
As you tend to your
flock, you must be willing to accept them as they are. Some are easy to love. While
others, you are called to try, with God’s help, to love them with everything
you have despite how you feel about them. Sometimes you need to help lead them
to higher ground, other times you simply just need to be present to them. When
you tend the flock in your midst, you are doing God’s work through the power of
the Holy Spirit, and the blessings you receive are awe-inspiring, bringing greater
love, peace and joy into your life.
©
Copyright 2018 | Adele M. Gill
___________________________________________________
Chaplain
Adele M. Gill, RN, BSN, ABDA is author of 3 books including “From Broken to Blest: Embracing the Healing
that Awaits You,’ written with Dr. Verna Benner Carson. From Broken to
Blest is now available on Amazon and Barnes at Noble in print, Nook & Kindle
versions. Click on this link to order:
