Attention to Details

“I am the Good Shepherd.  I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

John 10:14

I got caught the other night.  We were talking at the Council meeting about the Sunday School teachers appreciation breakfast.  I made the comment that I did not know that the breakfast was a council sponsored event.  That’s when the person who hosted the breakfast spoke up.  “It was in my email.  You got my email.  Ah, you didn’t read my email.”  Yep, I got caught.  Too often I will skim an email rather than read it in detail.  That often gets me in trouble, when I miss some important detail. 

You can always tell when someone pays attention to detail.    Their emails have no spelling errors.  You send them an email, they read it and respond… appropriately.  They are well groomed.  They pick up after themselves.  They do their homework and do it well. Their desks are organized and clean.  When hosting you, they go out of their way to make sure you are taken care of.  When they show an interest in you, they mean it.  They aren’t just making conversation.  They are getting to know you. They are listening.  They will remember things about you that others forget – your name, things you said to them, what you were wearing and more.  They pay attention to details. 

That’s what Jesus is telling us about Himself.  “I am the Good Shepherd, “ He says, “I know my sheep…”   He pays attention to details.  He knows all there is to know about us.  He knew us before we were born.  While we were still in the womb of our mothers His “eyes saw our unformed bodies.”  Isaiah tells us He brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name.  He calls you and me by name.  Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold or a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  After all, this Shepherd who pays attention to every detail of your life, who listens to every prayer you offer, knows your need.  He has met every detail of your need, giving Himself to die so that you might be made whole.  He rose that you might live with Him forever.  Yes, He pays attention to detail.  He pays attention to you and to me.

You know this.  You can tell.  That’s the second part of what Jesus says, “…My sheep know me.”  That’s why you can trust Him.  I saw a living illustration of this on my vicarage.  We were at the home of the Kirchners for Sunday dinner.  Ken got a call that one of his cows was out of the pasture, standing in the middle of the road.  Ken took me with.  We tried and tried to get that cow to go back through the gate into the pasture.  No matter what we did, the cow did the opposite of what we wanted.  Finally, Ken looked at me and said, “Vicar, why don’t you walk down the road a piece.”  I did as I was told.  As soon as I was far enough away, that cow did whatever Ken wanted it to do.  Why?  Because the cow knew Ken.  The cow knew that Ken made sure she was fed every day.  The cow knew that Ken pulled her calves.  That Ken brought the vet to take care of her needs.  The cow knew Ken and trusted him. She didn’t know me. 

We know Jesus. We have talked to Him in prayer.  We recognize His voice because we spend time in His word.  We have seen Him answer our prayers.  We have experienced His care in hard times and blessing in good times.  He has comforted us when grieving.  He has given us friends and family to stand with us in life.  When we need to be humbled, he sends the right circumstances or the right people to do that.  When we need to be encouraged He is there too.  I remember my last year at Flower Mound, TX.  One of our young mothers had cancer and was in the midst of her treatment.  At one low point, very discouraged she went out for ice cream.  Out of the blue, a man she didn’t know spoke to her.  “You have cancer don’t you?”  “Yes,” she said, “How did you know?”  “My wife has cancer too. I could tell.”  They sat and talked for quite a while.  “You know Pastor, he was exactly the person I needed to talk to today.  He knew exactly what I was going through.  I know God sent him to me to lift me up… to encourage me.”  Those little events in life are how we know that we can trust Jesus.  Our Shepherd pays attention to details.  Like Jesus said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”HiHHH