 What do pottery and shepherding have to do with one another? Well, when I was in Nazareth, that's right, the place where Jesus grew up, I came across both these things, and it got me thinking. You see, in the Old Testament, God is referred to as the potter who molds us. He's also referred to as the shepherd who leads, directs, and protects us. Jesus also reiterates this point when he calls himself the good shepherd. Now honestly, I don't think it's a coincidence that I came across these sheep in Nazareth, the place where Jesus spent the majority of his life. He was very familiar with the lifestyle of a shepherd. Jesus went to the extent of saying that he would lay his life down for his sheep. At the time, people would have been hard-pressed to know exactly what he was talking about, but it all made sense when Jesus died on the cross. He laid his life down for us that we would be saved from the ravenous wolves of sin, death, and the devil. But you know what, he didn't stay dead. He rose again, and he continues to lead and protect us today. When you submit your life to God, he molds you day by day into his image, and he's patient with you like a shepherd is to his sheep. He guides you into green pastures. Man, how awesome is God.