Near the base of the Rocky Mountains, on the high plains of Montana, the grass grows plentifully. There in the 1930s an old shepherd, his face deeply carved into wrinkles from years of being in the sun and wind, worked with his sheepdog. They tended a big flock of sheep, and sometimes they didn’t see another human being for weeks.
The dog, with his lively eyes and thick, matted hair that protected him from the elements, was very good at what he did. Tirelessly he trotted his seemingly endless rounds, making sure the sheep stayed bunched together, always on the alert for predators such as wolves or coyotes. When it was time to move the sheep to fresh pasturage, the dog seemed to know, with only a nod, a whistle or a sweep of his master’s hand, exactly what to do. Several ranch hands working on horses would have had difficulty accomplishing the same tasks the sheepdog did easily.
Then an illness that had been creeping up on the old man laid him low, and he no longer could rise up out of bed. He needed medical help and the nearest place to get it was in Fort Benton, many miles away. When he was lifted up on to the bed of an old farm truck, the dog jumped up beside him and stayed by his side for the long trip. When they got to St. Claries Hospital, a couple of workers came out and carried the old shepherd in. The dog tried to slip in the door to accompany his master in the hospital, but a nurse discovered him and blocked his way. The sheepdog, or “Shep” as the people living in Fort Benton began to call him, lay down near the hospital door and kept a close watch on it. He didn’t want to miss his master if he should leave.
The old man’s illness was the last he would ever suffer, for he soon passed away. When his relatives were contacted back east, they asked for his body to be sent to them by train. Hospital attendants carried his body to the train station. Shep saw what was happening and followed along. When the old shepherd’s body was placed in a freight car, Shep tried to jump up through the open door, but a railroad worker prevented him and then slid the door of the car shut. With a puff of steam the train pulled away, leaving Shep behind.
Most dogs left to themselves would have wandered away and perhaps would find a new home. Not Shep. He had seen his master leave on the train, and somehow he believed that he would return in the same way. The next day when the train pulled into Fort Benton, Shep was there waiting for it. He walked among all the passengers that stepped off, looking into their faces, hoping to recognize the one he loved. Needless to say, he didn’t find him, but Shep didn’t give up. He came back the next day also, and the next, and the next...always checking each passenger to see if his master might be returning.
The train conductor noticed the behavior of the dog as it was repeated over and over. It was he who pieced together Shep’s story by asking a few questions around town. Shep faithfully looking for his old master became a topic of interest for many people. Some people even made the train trip to Fort Benton to see the dog for themselves. Shep didn’t disappoint them. Whether it was raining, snowing, or bitter cold, every day for the next five and a half years, until he died, Shep never missed checking out the passengers of the incoming train.
Shep’s faithfulness and loyalty to his master are remarkable. Few stories about dogs can rival Shep’s. Faithfulness and loyalty-they are traits that we admire in persons too. If we have faithful and loyal friends, we can count ourselves fortunate indeed. Whether you know it or not, you have a great Friend whose faithfulness and loyalty are unrivaled. This Friend has your best interest in mind and the good of your welfare in His heart, at all times. Even though you may not know Him, He knows you, and He knows what you need, better than you do yourself.
His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and He is a friend who sticks “closer than a brother.” In faithfulness to mankind He left the glories of heaven and came to earth to reveal God’s heart of love to a world of lost sinners. In faithfulness to the creatures that would so despitefully use Him, He went all the way to the cross. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
At the cross the Lord Jesus made a way for hell-deserving sinners to turn around and find forgiveness and eternal life from God. Eternal life is not only life without death; it is far more than that. It is life that can know the same joy that filled the heart of the Lord Jesus. This joy comes from knowing God the Father and ever seeking to please and obey Him. On earth we can know it in some measure; in heaven we will know it fully, completely and without interruption. Just to be in heaven and in the presence of the Lord Jesus will be joy so great that no words can describe it.
Jesus Christ is sometimes called “the sinner’s Friend,” because, no matter how deep in sin a person may have fallen, He can do wonders in that life. He can forgive, cleanse, justify, redeem and turn such a fallen soul into a child of God. Do you feel yourself far from God, full of grief and bitterness, and doing hateful things? Don’t despair! Come to Jesus. Never was a friend so faithful, and what He has done for others He can do for you.
If it were not for His faithfulness in seeking for lost souls like a shepherd might search for a lost sheep, not one of us would ever be saved. You can be sure He is looking for you even now. Won’t you hear Him speaking through His Word (the Bible) inviting you to come to Him that you might have life?
Shep’s story moves our hearts because he was so faithful. Won’t you let the true story of the Lord Jesus, and all He did to save you, move you to accept Him as your Savior? His love to you is unrivaled. His faithfulness and loyalty in His dealings toward you are unequaled. Don’t go on being a stranger to His love and grace another day. Oh, that your eyes might be opened to what God has done for you, and that you might bow your heart to Him and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!