One of Jesus’s most powerful and evocative metaphors was that of the Good Shepherd. Jesus described himself repeatedly as one seeking after the lost sheep, leaving behind the ninety nine to find the one, and even laying his life down for his sheep.

I recently read a classic book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. In this book, Keller goes through Psalm 23 from the perspective of someone who had raised sheep. This book provided so many meaningful insights that filled me with awe to consider that God is my shepherd.

But what stood out to me the most was how prone sheep are to wander. It’s true that some sheep may be more prone to it than others. But the natural inclination of sheep is to wander away and even to resist rescue. Sheep get lost, distracted, and confused. Even if you put them in a beautiful pasture, they still may wander off. Any sheep could be a “lost” one.

Keller put it this way:

“It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep. The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways…Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance. Yet despite these adverse characteristics Christ has chosen us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own and delights in caring for us.”

The powerful Biblical truth is that we are all like sheep. And that means that we have ALL gone astray and needed rescue. Indeed, as Isaiah memorably declared, this was the very reason that Jesus had to atone for our sins:

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6).

For a long time, I struggled to see myself as a lost sheep. The emphasis I heard, especially in my former faith, was on being an “undershepherd”—a helper in Christ’s work of gathering. For instance, President Russell M. Nelson recently taught: “The Good Shepherd lovingly cares for all sheep of His fold, and we are His true undershepherds.”

There isn’t anything expressly wrong with this teaching. Indeed, the Bible refers to elder and pastors as shepherds over the Lord’s flock:

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV)

And yet, if we are not careful, the focus on seeing ourselves as undershepherds can eclipse our identity as sheep who desperately need to be rescued and led by the Good Shepherd.

We’d often rather see ourselves as the heroes of the story—or at least the loyal sidekicks, like Samwise Gamgee. But the Bible tells a different story. More often than not, we’re at best the comic relief—the ones constantly getting into trouble. We are not the saviors; we are the ones who need saving.

When we imagine ourselves as undershepherds, we can unintentionally diminish the glory of Christ as our Good Shepherd.

If we don’t realize how prone we are to being lost and wandering, we will never fully appreciate how committed Christ is to seeking and finding us.

Jesus taught that if we belong to him, he will pursue us. He will not stop until we are safely home. He will not abandon us, no matter how far we stray. He will not let the wolves devour us or let us fall to our death. Understanding what it means that Christ is our Good Shepherd should give us immense comfort and security.

The truth is, we’re not very good at finding or rescuing others. We falter. We grow distracted. We give up too soon. Far too often, we resemble the hired hands Jesus warned about—those who run when danger comes.

And if we project that kind of faltering, half-hearted shepherding onto Jesus, no wonder we sometimes lack confidence and peace.

But Jesus is not like us.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

He is utterly faithful. He is unrelentingly committed. He seeks until he finds. He carries us home on his shoulders rejoicing. And when we finally grasp that we can start resting in the arms of the Shepherd who gave everything to bring us home.