Little

Little Flock

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32 (NASB)

When I was put in charge of food for a series of meetings and a weekend retreat, Fear knocked on my door. Panic tried to slip in. So many details! Could I remember the main things? Could I get everything ready in time?

As I studied the group’s verse for the weekend, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1), I found the related verse in Luke.

Luke 12:32 records one of the many times Jesus told his disciples to stop being afraid. He addressed them as a “little flock.” The Greek word he used for little is a double diminutive which must be translated by more than one word in English.* We might say “tiny little” or “very little.”

Jesus’s words remind us that he is the Shepherd. He leads his flock beside still waters; we will not want; we will dwell with him forever (Psalm 23). He is the Good Shepherd because the Father sent him as a sacrificial lamb to die in our place so that we could be part of the Kingdom of God. The verb in Luke 12:32, “has chosen,” is past tense: Jesus opened up the Kingdom. It’s done. We don’t have to work to earn it. Accept the gift; it’s paid for.

Not only do I have an intimately caring Shepherd who has opened up his Kingdom, but I am also part of a flock. Responsibility for food at the meetings and retreat did not all rest on me: I had a team of helpers. At one of the meetings, a team member grabbed my busy hands and made me stop as she prayed for God’s peace to fill me. And it did.

Have you been tempted to panic about a responsibility you’ve been given? See yourself as part of a flock. Even if the flock is a tiny little one, even if you don’t have a team of helpers, remember you are always surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). And you are led by the Divine Shepherd who says, “Fear not, little flock.”

DIG DEEPER

How does Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18:12-14 characterize the shepherd? What is he willing to do for us?

In Luke 12:22-31, how do we compare with the things Jesus tells us to look at? Have you ever applied this remedy to your own fear and worry?

Match the Scripture with the “little people or things” that God made important in the following quiz:

Little Is Big Quiz.

 Nancy J. Baker

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