Knowing

Friday May 1st, John 10: 14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. As we are known and loved by Jesus, so we are called to get to know other sheep and to learn to be loving towards these other sheep.   Caring is more than just saying “I’ll pray for you,” it is actually about praying for them in words, and then following that up with deeds.  In our church we have prayer cards that are sent out each week to those people in the congregation are praying for.  It is not the end, but it is a good start.  There are times however when one’s prayer list is not much different from ones shit list. It is usually when we find ourselves praying that the other would see things our way.  Those prayers are more about our self-interests than about the person we are praying for.  Being a shepherd is about knowing the other well enough to truly pray for them. It is in praying and knowing well enough to know what to pray for even before the conversation begins that is the mark of a loving, caring shepherd. That kind of knowing presupposes relationship, and relationships take work, caring, and love, and most of all ……. Prayer.