The Time-Traveling Shepherd

Did you know Christians believe in time travel?

It’s true! But to understand how, we have to travel back to beginning of creation.

God creates Adam, then creates garden/food.

Designs Adam to need food to show Adam He was dependent on a gracious God who gave abundant gifts through creation.

Eden was made as a gift to Adam & creatures for peace, security, rest (not laziness, but all things working together for good)

God was the Good Shepherd who provided everything for Adam, sheep & shepherd, & creation was a worldwide green pasture to rest & rejoice in.

Fast-forward to the un-Edening of creation.

Creation is cursed; full of drought, famine, disaster, and thorns; full of desolate places.

Creation is no longer a place of rest; full of war, turmoil, heartache, & tragedy. All things seem to work together not for good, but calamity.

Creation lacks a Shepherd. Adam wanders like a sheep in a dangerous & desolate place where food is scarce, death waits around every corner.

Creation needs to be made right. When Jesus returns, it will!

Time travel: Jesus brings future into the past.

Jesus was with disciples teaching the multitude, but it starts to get late.

Crowd is in a desolate place with no rest because they had no food.

But they had a Shepherd!

“You give them something to eat.”

Reader doesn’t find out there’s 5000+ people there until end, but disciples can see that! 5 loaves & 2 fish is a joke!

Jesus commands crowd to rest on “green grass” (v39) in a desolate wilderness! Hint: Jesus is up to something

Jesus restores creation’s abundance! He opens 1st Olive Garden w/unlimited bread sticks!

Took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it do disciples to distribute to crowds. All 5000+ were satisfied with leftovers!

Kingdom moment: Jesus was re-Edening creation!

Fast forward to today, we find ourselves in un-Edened world.

W/o Jesus, we are sheep without a shepherd, live by corrupt philosophies, spinning moral compasses, tangling lies.

If you live by a creed, narrative, worldview that doesn’t come entirely from Jesus, you are a sheep w/o shepherd.

No Shepherd = no purpose, no hope, no identity, no destiny. Need to depend on a shepherd!

But even w/Jesus as Shepherd, we find ourselves in desolate places. Not always Chuck-E-Cheese!

Desolate places have a knack for finding you; situations that make you wonder how you’ll ever make it through:

Parenting kids

Picking up a loved one at police station after a DUI

Caring for an aging parent

Loving someone with differing worldview/rock bottom

LIE: you have to do it all yourself/INDEPENDENCE (Reality: all you really have to offer = 5 loaves & 2 fish)

You have a time-traveling Shepherd!

Jesus died & rose again to bring eternal peace & rest from the future new creation into the present.

Spirit brings peace & forgiveness from 2000 years ago on cross into future, to you in the present.

Re-Edening world! One day, whole creation will be transformed, superabundant place of rest.

But Shepherd time travels future new life into today’s desolate places!

Jesus makes creation abundant, even now, for you.

Jesus takes simple bread, blesses it, breaks it: His true Body, for you, to fill you & satisfy you w/ eternal life, forgiveness, hope!

Like Adam, you were designed to have a Shepherd, be dependent on God!

You might be in a desolate place. You might only have meager 5 loaves & 2 fish, not sure how you’ll make it through

But being a sheep not about what you can accomplish in this world.

Jesus is Shepherd who accomplishes abundant things through our world!

As you serve & care for others/creation, Jesus works all things, even 5 loaves & 2 fish, for the good of his creation

Proclaiming His Word, Baptizing disciples, feasting on Body & Blood. Shepherd uses creation to abundantly transform creation!

Okay, don’t actually believe in time travel.

But Jesus brings reign of God abundantly to creation for the sake of bringing rest to His people in age to come.

Today, as Christians, we find satisfaction in our Shepherd who gives us new creation life now.