Lifted Vision Ministry

The highly requested Part II of my series The Difference Between Liking and Loving is finally here! In this series, I want to explore the question; is there truly a difference between liking something and actually loving it? The intricacies and the notion of how we are called to interact with people and with our merciful God is more than meets the eye! Let’s take a look at a parable told by Jesus in the book of John today to find our answer:

-John 10:11-15 NIV-
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

In this parable, there are two people: the good shepherd and the hired hand. The good shepherd, sacrifices his life for his sheep, he owns them and takes his ownership and responsibility over them seriously. He is a man of integrity, honor, status (as the shepherd) and has authority over the field and his flock. He is a man who willingly runs into danger to protect that which is important to him and furthermore, has an intimately deep relationship and connection to his sheep that cannot be matched or broken.
Now, on the other hand, there is the hired hand… The hired hand is someone who does not own the sheep or anything else for that matter. Additionally he is an abandoner, scatters the flock (causing separation and division), cares nothing for the sheep and ultimately ends up alone. The hired man is a coward and self-seeking, as evidenced by his weak behavior of running away when he saw danger foreshadowing in the distance (a wolf coming). The hired hand is not a man of stamina, does not get a good return for his work, and most notably, abandoned the sheep to ensure his own safety and took no thought for anyone else but himself.
These two contrasting characters perfectly display the true difference between what liking and loving truly mean.

The Good Shepherd is Jesus, but for the sake of this parable it also represents someone who unconditionally loves those around them and those they are responsible for. The good shepherd is willing to make sacrifices for the benefit of others and loves God and those around them even more than their own lives. The good shepherd puts others first, and demonstrates that love through his action. This is the example of true love, displayed through the bold and selfless actions of the good shepherd by laying his life down for the sheep. We find here that the key to true love is in fact, true selflessness.
On the other hand, the hired hand is someone who is essentially just a nobody, with only a slight liking towards the sheep. This person is what the scripture illustrates to be the negative example of how Jesus calls us to be- someone unreliable, someone who cannot take charge, and someone who is weak, wimpish and most importantly someone who selfishly puts themselves first before others, lacking in all ways, including integrity. This is a person who only likes instead of loves and overall, never prospers and is nothing like Jesus, our God. In reality, the hired hand probably “liked” the sheep, and “liked” his job; but he did not show true love through sacrifice and was eventually disgraced for it. Therefore, we can clearly see the stark differences between the hired hand and the good shepherd and therefore, what loving and liking really mean in effect.

-John 10: 17-18 NIV-
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What we further learn about the good shepherd is that they are a person who listens to the voice of God, willingly obeys the voice of God, and has authority and love from God because of it. This person is truly blessed and not only do they give love to God and others, but they also receive love from God (and others) as well.

Today’s consensus is that, if we say that we truly love Jesus, we will obey Him, listen to him (the first time *ahem*) make sacrifices for Him and others and always put Him first in our hearts, minds and souls.

I encourage you brothers and sisters today to contemplate how you can be good shepherds in your everyday lives: in your families, in your friend circles and in your close relationships with others.

Who will you choose to be? The good shepherd or the hired hand? The choice is up to you. I pray we all choose and have a desire to be people who are known for showing true and honest love instead of a mere loose “liking” towards God, his people and the things of God.

Be blessed dear ones and come back for part III, the final part to this series: coming soon 🙂 Take care!