Ezekiel 34:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
In the book of Ezekiel the Lord gives a word for to the "shepherds" of Israel, I began to analyze this text found in the chapter 34 and I found something heartbreaking , this word fits perfectly to the pastors of today! Many churches today are called mega churches, but only by their physical size, not by their spiritual reach. The pastors of today use their time taking care of themselves and getting fatter, while leaving the sheep to their fate. The pastors of today have forgotten that the harvest is plentiful and hide in their office, the real work is in the streets, under bridges, in the prisons!
The words of Ezekiel were written 2,700 years ago, but are characteristic of the "servants" of
God today. Pastors have to understand that they were not called to dominate to the church, if not to serve it, to nurture it.
The coldness, apathy, greed are features that are nothing like the ideals of Christ, but they describe in a perfect way many pastors of our times. It is time to understand our place not as owners of the church, but as persons called to minister to the fallen, find the lost, to feed the hungry. It is time for pastors with true love for the work of God.
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