The Good Shepherd

Sheep on the Hillside- Machaerus, Jordan

Carried on God’s Shoulders

On Good Shepherd Sunday we hear the pictures of Christ, the Good Shepherd, seeking the lost lambs and carrying them back to the flock on his shoulders. We recall the words of Christ, identifying himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:14) and link it automatically to Psalm 23. We see ourselves, lost and foolish lambs that we are, rescued again and again by the Good Shepherd, and carried, secure in his arms or draped around his neck. We know we do not have to walk alone or find our own way in time of trial. Christ finds us and carries us through life.

To this picture of comfort I would add another picture of God carrying His children on His shoulders. Look to Deuteronomy 33:12. This blessing of the tribe of Benjamin, youngest and most beloved of the sons of Jacob, says Benjamin will rest between the shoulders of God.

While many scholars attribute this to a description of the mountainous terrain assigned to the tribe of Benjamin, I rather like to think of a child, carried happy and secure, on the shoulders of his father. 

We have artistic renderings of Christ, the Good Shepherd, but have no renderings of the first person of the Trinity, the Creator carrying his children. Such a lack is good and proper. The people of the Old Testament were specifically forbidden to create idols or representations of God for the purpose of worship. 

Poets have painted verbal pictures of God forming man of the dust of the earth. The Scriptures tell us that God shut the door of the Ark to secure the safety of those inside. And then there is this, the picture of God carrying the youngest of the tribes on His shoulders. 

Here is how my heart paints that picture. It is part of the journey out of Egypt into the promised-land. God called his beloved child out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1) and saved Israel from the wrath of Egypt by drowning the army of the Pharaoh in the sea. Then God carried the joyful child on his shoulders in celebration. God carries us not only in times of trial, but also in times of great joy. This is how I see loved ones who died in faith. This is how I know it will be when I enter into glory. I will be sitting on God’s shoulders, singing, laughing, bouncing, happy, and celebrating the victory God has worked.

Thanks to Natalie Hartwig-

Contributing Writer for 

Journeys of Faith for this devotion.