華倫牧師聽說教會有位弟兄拋棄了妻子和家庭，便祈求上帝幫助他能巧遇那位弟兄，可以和他談一談。結果，他真的遇到了！當華倫牧師走進一間餐廳，就看見那位弟兄坐在不遠處的座位。於是他上前詢問：「你不介意讓一個肚子餓的人與你同座吧？」很快地，他們開始深入交談並一同禱告。

華倫身為一位牧師，在他的教會擔任牧者的角色，要牧養照顧上帝託付他的羊群，正如上帝透過先知以西結說，祂要照顧祂的羊群。上帝應許要尋找祂四散的羊，拯救他們，招聚他們（以西結書34章12-13節）。上帝說：「我必在美好的草場牧養他們；……失喪的，我必尋找；被逐的，我必領回；受傷的，我必纏裹；有病的，我必醫治」（14-16節）。上帝對祂百姓的愛，不斷迴盪在這些畫面之中。雖然以西結預言的是上帝將來的作為，但這些預言反映出上帝這位大牧者永恆不變的心意，有一天祂將在耶穌身上顯明牧者的心腸。

不論我們的景況如何，上帝都會向我們伸出援手，祂要拯救我們，且在肥美的草場上庇護我們。祂期盼我們跟從那位好牧人，也就是願意「為羊捨命」的好牧人（參閱約翰福音10章14-15節）。

When Pastor Warren heard that a man in his church had deserted his wife and family, he asked God to help him meet the man as if by accident so they could chat. And He did! When Warren walked into a restaurant, he spotted the gentleman in a nearby booth. “Got some room for another hungry man?” he asked, and soon they were sharing deeply and praying together.

As a pastor, Warren was acting as a shepherd for those in his church community, even as God through the prophet Ezekiel said He would tend His flock. God promised to look after His scattered sheep, rescuing them and gathering them together (Ezekiel 34:12–13). He would “tend them in a good pasture” and “search for the lost and bring back the strays”; He would “bind up the injured and strengthen the weak” (vv. 14–16). God’s love for His people reverberates through each of these images. Though Ezekiel’s words anticipate God’s future actions, they reflect the eternal heart of the God and Shepherd who would one day reveal Himself in Jesus.

No matter our situation, God reaches out to each of us, seeking to rescue us and sheltering us in a rich pasture. He longs for us to follow the Good Shepherd, He who lays down His life for His sheep (see John 10:14–15).