When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
(John 21:15)

October 1989. Visitors to Psalm 23 frequently ask soon after their arrival, "Where are your sheep?" I then proceed to tell and/or show them. There is no time when all sheep are in the same pasture. There will always be at least two groups depending upon the time of year, the types of sheep, and the state of production (pregnant, non-pregnant, milking, growing, etc.).

As the lambs grow older the ewes' milk volume declines and the lambs depend more upon the pasture to meet their needs for growth. As this occurs the lambs compete with the older sheep for grass. The pastures also become more contaminated with internal parasite eggs and larvae as the season extends into mid and late summer. These factors begin to work against the lambs' well health and growth.

Sometime in July or August I wean all the lambs and place them on the very best pasture available. It is often hay aftermath or re-growth. In other words, it is grass that has grown back after a crop of hay has been removed. In addition to the nutritious new growth, this land is also clean with respect to parasites because sheep have not grazed it that season. Lambs are given the best because of what they are to become, not what dollar value they have at that point.

If this weaning process takes place during winter months the shepherd formulates the very best diet for these lambs. They get the best hay and the right combination of grains.

In our Christian life we should follow the same management as shepherds; we should provide the very best pasture for the lambs. For a long time I've been intrigued about Jesus' command to Peter (John 21: 15-17). Jesus made three statements to Peter concerning feeding and caring for the sheep, and isn't it interesting that the first of these three statements was "Feed my lambs". Perhaps he meant lambs to be top priority just as shepherds do.

Does your church spend as much time, effort and money on children's programs as on the adults? Is more money invested in the children's choir or music program than on the adults? Is your youth pastor given top priority? Are facilities for the young in your church the very best? I was in a church once that had one room in the building that had very nice furniture (the kind a country boy would hesitate to sit on) that was bought and used by the ladies of the church. A couple doors down the hall the teen-agers had a room that was about as exciting as a West Virginia woodshed.

You see, we are much like the sheep. We compete with the lambs. We grab the new growth of grass and crowd out the lambs. (We probably contaminate the pasture as well). Sometimes we think we are doing great things for our youth when in fact we may not be meeting their needs. We try to compete with the world. We may have the kids raise money so they can go somewhere next summer and ride a bigger roller coaster than they rode last summer. You might retort, "I can see no harm in that!" You know what? The destructive internal parasite eggs and larvae that sometimes kill my lambs cannot be seen in the pastures either. It takes a magnifying glass to see them. Some of the greenest pastures are loaded with these tiny, yet destructive parasites.

No, the truth is that young people need the same thing you and I need, the Word of God. Lambs should be fed the very same ingredients as older sheep; the ingredients are just formulated into a different diet, or put together in a different combination.

Finally at some point in time my lambs arrive to their function; never perfect, but they reach an acceptable level of maturity. Now if you're upset because of my negative reference to roller coasters just let me say that recreation can have its positive effects, but the total diet had better include sufficient training to provide spiritual growth in the lives of young people. How many high school students, for example, do you know that stand up and boldly proclaim Jesus as Lord of their lives? Now I don't mean did they at some time make a trip to an alter and fill out a card. All too often we are more impressed with the youngster who can slam dunk a basketball than whether or not they witness daily to others about our Lord Jesus Christ.

If a shepherd gives his best pasture to the lambs so they can arrive at an acceptable level of maturity then I leave you with three final questions. At what point do you expect young people to arrive at an acceptable level of Christian maturity? What is your idea of an acceptable level of Christian maturity? Do you think they need the very best pasture or will second best be good enough for young growing lambs?