I was recently thinking about when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, and three times told him to feed His sheep.  I know I love my Lord; but am I really feeding His sheep?

To be both a sheep and a shepherd seems like conflicting roles. Maybe that makes us more like sheepdogs, hahaha.  My own truth seems to be that I think about this – feeding sheep – quite a lot, but I don’t feel super effective at it.  Do you get that same feeling?

Well Doggone

I think one problem for me personally, and in my place at New Hope, is my thoughts that I really need… so very much… to be a “better me.”  I’m sure Jesus wants me and New Hope both to be better of course, but I DON’T think that is what our survivors are looking for.  Instead of a “better me,” I think they really need “less me.”  What they need is “more Him.”  I’ve even wondered at times how much easier it would be to make a “better me” in the first place, if it wasn’t about “better me” at all. If it was just about “less me.” 

Jesus said in John 12, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  This is actually exactly what we teach our mentoring volunteers at New Hope.  If our lives look anything like His, if our LOVE looks anything like His, HE will draw people to Himself.  Not always easy, but incredibly simple.  He must increase, and we must decrease. 

Of Sheep and Shepherds

During this time of profound darkness, I see my brothers and sisters doing this very thing.  They seem to me to be a bright light, unmistakable against the backdrop of this present gloom.  A “city on a hill” and a “lamp,” like our Lord instructed them to be in Matthew 5. 

I feel challenged this week to think of how much more I can do… to be less me, to be more Him.  Jesus has lit me like a “lamp.”  I don’t want to place that light under a basket.  His love looks so good… I want to click on high beams.

Have you had thoughts of how the light Jesus has placed in you might impact a child survivor of trafficking?  Let’s hook you up!  We’d love to see His ministry through you to His precious sheep.  To get started, fill out a volunteer interest form on our website at https://www.newhopeyouth.org/volunteer-questionnaire/ or email [email protected] to get on the notification list for our next training!