Nurtured by The Shepherd

This week's prompt provided for the free writers at Five Minute Friday is the word, "nurture."

Nurture means to care for, feed, protect, and foster the growth or development of someone or something. One of nurture's synonyms is tend. (Merriam -Webster)

Tend? Now, there is a word I can talk about! 

GO

I first thought of the Lord comissioning Peter after his denial of Christ during the crucifixion. The Lord forgave Peter but challenged him three times about his love for Christ to counter the three times Peter denied Him.

Every time Peter admitted that he loved Jesus; then Christ gave him the directive to feed my lambs, then tend my sheep and finally, feed my sheep. (see John 21:15-17) Doing so would prove Peter's sincerity in his love for the Lord.

I find it so interesting we prove our love for God in how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I especially love that Peter was told to tend the sheep, or in other words nurture them. He was to help them grow both physically and spiritually.

Of course, any discussion of sheep and shepherds immediately draws us to the beauful imagery of Psalm 23.

STOP (My five minutes are up, but wait! I have more!)

You see, tending is much more than just feeding the physical body. Look at the action words I highlighted in green contained in Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever. - Psalm 23, NL

I think the Shepherd described in Psalm 23 is the very essence of a Nurturer.

Who is this Nurturer? The Lord Jesus Christ! And I'm thankful to proclaim, to publish, the news that He is my Shepherd.

He can be yours, too.

Want to know more? Read my post, A Ticket Home. It describes the way Home.

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

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