I still get tickled thinking of my dad and his cows. He’s like a ‘good shepherd’ with his small herd. He knows the temperament of each, he knows their names, and he talks to each one of them. When he was a school boy in Arkansas, a Sunday school teacher encouraged his class to memorize the genealogy of Jesus. My dad still recites these names quite often as this is the way he names his baby bulls: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, … Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, … Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, … Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and recently born, King David, is the thirty-fourth in line. Labor Day weekend we visited my parents and I got to go on a hike to see the cows. Daddy was pleasantly surprised to discover that a calf had been born that very morning… a baby that could not be named Solomon 
. The mother was tired from her labor, but you could tell she was happy with her offspring. The little black calf wobbled around trying to learn to walk on her first day out of the womb while my dad explained to me the wonderful features of this curious newborn.
Though my dad was excited about a new calf, he paid more attention to his wobbly son on this summer afternoon. I was at the end of a round of chemo and there is no way I could have negotiated the journey without him. He showed me how to step over the electric fence while offering his shoulder to lean on as I crossed. He told me that he had recently seen a snake so I needed to watch my step. When we came to a creek, Daddy hopped from the bank to a rock in the middle of the stream to the opposite bank like a seventy-five-year-old Olympian. I stood on my side quite sure I was about to end up in the water. Seeing my hesitation, Daddy told me to wait until he found another rock to place in the creek to make the crossing easier. (I still got a little wet, but it could have been worse .) Even four days later I had to call home to ask my dad how to get rid of a tick that had taken up residence on my body. I followed his directions to the best of my ability and I think the problem is gone. When I am around Daddy or even if I just hear his voice, I feel perfectly safe.
Of course you know where I’m going with this story. God is greater than any good father and He wants His children to have solid answers to their questions. Does God know my name? Does He have great joy that I am a part of His family? Does the Good Shepherd communicate with me? When I’m a bit wobbly on this earth (which is always), will He help me avoid messy and dangerous traps? If I have a problem, can He tell me what I need to do? Let these familiar words from Psalm 23, John 10, and Isaiah 43 give us assurance.
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me…”
“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay my life down for the sheep. I call my own sheep by name and lead them out. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me…”
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you walk through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”