Millions of us can say the Lord is our shepherd no matter what he looks like

THE little girl was colouring furiously. Her mother watched patiently until she asked, “What are you drawing dear?” The girl, eyes fixed on her work, answered, “I’m drawing a picture of God”. The mother wanted to be encouraging but had to say, “But darling, nobody knows what God looks like”. This time the girl stopped what she was doing. Putting her crayons down she looked at her mother saying, “They will when I’ve finished this”. Ask any group of people what

God is like and you will get a variety of responses. The Bible contains a variety of pictures and ideas trying to convey an understanding of God. One of the most enduring pictures comes in the song we know as Psalm 23. This begins “The Lord is my Shepherd” and has probably been sung at more funeral services than anything else. This psalm alone gives a variety of pictures of God. There is the familiar description of the shepherd who cares for the sheep, providing for all their needs. Later in the psalm God is described as a companion on one who is on a frightening and dangerous journey. Finally, God is likened to a host who has prepared an astonishing spread for his special guest. We cannot pin God down to one image and our understanding of God will change with our circumstances. Perhaps today it is enough to know that he is caring for us and taking us through good places. Perhaps we are in our own “valley of the shadow of death” and need to know his presence and protection. Maybe we have been so sidelined by life that in our weariness we need to be reminded once more of the value he places on our lives as he invites us to feast at his table. The writer of this Psalm says that with his Lord he has “everything I need”. The God he knew was sufficient for all the days of his life: days of darkness and days of peace. And millions today have discovered that they too can say: “The Lord is my shepherd”.