We recently got a new dog … a Chihuahua pup that is only three pounds. 

I’ve forgotten what it’s like to care for such a vulnerable creature. We’ve learned to shuffle walk so we don’t step on him, and we check the couch before we sit down.

Our yard isn’t fenced, so when I take him outside, I really have to pay attention—especially at night when it’s dark and hard to see. The pup zooms around the lawn, but I lose sight of him in the shadows, and this makes me decidedly nervous because Chihuahuas can get attacked by hawks or owls. I call him back repeatedly to the light spilling from the back porch and sigh in frustration when he sticks to the shadows. He just wants to have fun.

Aren’t we often like this zoomy, little pup? We are constantly running from one thing to another, often ignoring the pitfalls and oblivious of the “hawks and owls” of the world, even though our Good Shepherd is always right there trying to call us back into the light and patiently extending his arms.

How often do we zoom right by him, going deeper into the shadows, because we want to do things our way? Much too often, right?

But Jesus, the Good Shepherd, never gives up on us.

“As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered” (Ezekiel 34:12).