Entrusting Those We Love to the Faithful Shepherd

The Weight of Parental Love

When you become a parent, everything changes. You lie awake at night listening to them breathe. You worry about every fever, every bump, every scraped knee. And as they grow, the worries just change shape. You worry about the friends they'll make, the choices they'll face, the world they're growing up in.

So what are we actually doing when we dedicate a child to the Lord? Let me be clear about what we're not doing: we're not guaranteeing their salvation. That's not how it works. We can't make that decision for them. We're also not promising to be perfect parents. I hope not, because we'd all fail by Tuesday.

What we are doing is something far more profound. We're engaging in an act of entrusting ourselves and those we love to the faithful Shepherd. This concept of entrusting runs throughout Scripture, and it's beautifully captured in 1 Peter 2:25:

"Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls."

Your Shepherd. The Guardian of your souls. Child dedication, and really all of the Christian life, is fundamentally about trust. Christ entrusted Himself to the Father. We entrust ourselves to God. Parents entrust their children to the Shepherd.

The Call to Trust in Daily Life

Peter has just reminded us in verse 11 that we're "temporary residents and foreigners." We don't fully belong to this world. So how do we live here? 1 Peter 2:13-15 provides guidance:

"For the Lord's sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you."

Peter's instruction is straightforward: live such good lives that even your critics have nothing to say. Trust in God enough to do the right thing even when others don't. Even when nobody's watching.

What does this look like practically? It's paying your taxes honestly. It's treating difficult people with respect. It's doing your job with integrity even when your boss doesn't notice. This is trust in action, not merely trust in theory.

Peter continues in verses 18-19 with an even harder teaching:

"You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment."

Now, let me be clear: Peter is not endorsing slavery as an institution. He's addressing the reality his readers faced in the first century. But here's the principle that applies to all of us: Life isn't always fair. Your boss might be unreasonable. The world you're raising your kids in might feel hostile. And you can't always control any of that.

So what do you do when life is unjust? When you're anxious about the future? When you're worried about your kids? Peter's answer is simple and profound: Look at Jesus.

The Example of Christ's Trust

1 Peter 2:21-23 gives us the pattern:

"For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly."

That phrase "He left his case in the hands of God" is crucial. In Greek, this shows continuous, repeated action. It wasn't once and done. With every insult, He entrusted Himself to the Father. With every blow, He entrusted Himself again. With every injustice, He kept handing Himself over to God.

Consider what Jesus faced: false accusations from religious leaders who should have known better, betrayal by one of His closest friends, physical torture that would break most people, a rigged trial where the verdict was decided before He walked in, execution for crimes He didn't commit. And through all of it, He didn't defend Himself. He didn't fight back.

Why? Because He knew His Father "always judges fairly." He didn't have to defend Himself. He didn't have to take matters into His own hands. He could trust the outcome to God.

Picture Jesus in Gethsemane saying, "Not my will, but yours." That's entrusting. On the cross saying, "Father, forgive them." That's entrusting. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." That's entrusting.

And this is the pattern for us. Not passive weakness, but active, repeated entrusting of ourselves to God. When work is frustrating, entrust yourself to God. When relationships are hard, entrust yourself to God. When you're raising a child in a confusing world, entrust that child to God. Not once, but over and over.

The Shepherd Who Never Fails

1 Peter 2:24-25 brings us to the heart of why we can trust:

"He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls."

Peter gives Jesus two titles here: Shepherd and Guardian. The Shepherd feeds, leads, protects, and pursues. If you know anything about shepherds, you know they don't watch from a distance. They live with the sheep. They know each one by name.

The Guardian watches over, supervises, never looks away. Never takes a break. Put them together: Jesus tenderly cares for you and never takes His eyes off you.

"Once you were like sheep who wandered away." That's all of us. We go our own way. We think we know better. We get distracted. Sheep aren't particularly intelligent animals, and spiritually speaking, neither are we. We need someone to watch over us, to lead us, to come looking when we wander.

But here's the good news: we have that Shepherd. He didn't wait for us to find our way back. At the cross, "He personally carried our sins" so wandering sheep could come home. By His wounds, we are healed.

This is why we can entrust ourselves to Him. Not because we're naturally optimistic people, but because we have a Shepherd who proved His love by dying for us. A Guardian who never sleeps. If He loved us enough to die for us when we were wandering, how much more will He care for us now that we belong to Him?

The Practice of Ongoing Trust

When parents dedicate their children, they're doing exactly what this passage teaches. They're entrusting these children to the Shepherd and Guardian of souls. They're saying three things:

First, "We can't control this child's future, but we know the One who holds it." You can't control whether they'll get sick, what friends they'll choose, whether they'll walk away from faith. But you know the Shepherd who can handle all of that.

Second, "We can't protect them from every danger, but we trust the Guardian who never sleeps." You can't be with them every moment. You can't shield them from every hurt. But you know the Guardian who never looks away.

Third, "We can't guarantee they'll never wander, but we believe in the Shepherd who pursues lost sheep." And this might be the hardest part. They might wander. They might doubt. They might walk away for a while. But you know the Shepherd who went looking for you will go looking for them too.

Just as Jesus kept entrusting Himself to the Father, parenting is an act of repeated trust. It's not one decision. It's a thousand decisions. First steps? Entrust them to God. First day of school? Entrust them to God. First heartbreak? Entrust them to God. Teenage years when they seem like strangers? Entrust them to God.

You don't have to be a perfect parent. You're going to make mistakes. But the Shepherd doesn't require perfect parents. He just requires parents who keep entrusting their children to Him.

For All of Us

But this isn't just about parents and children. Whatever you're facing, whoever you're worried about, you can entrust it to Him. Worried about aging parents? You can't stop time, but you can entrust them to the Shepherd who loves them more than you do. Anxious about your job? You can't control the economy, but you can entrust yourself to the Guardian who provides. In a difficult relationship? You can't control other people, but you can entrust yourself to the God who sees and knows and works in ways you can't imagine.

This is how we live as people who are "not from here." We don't live in fear because we belong to a Shepherd who proved His love at the cross. We don't live in anxiety because we have a Guardian who never stops watching over us. We live in trust. Active, repeated, daily trust.

You have a Shepherd who loves you enough to die for you. You have a Guardian who never takes His eyes off you. And you can trust Him with everything.

He is faithful. He is good. He is trustworthy.

Small Group Questions

ICE BREAKER QUESTIONS

1. What's one thing you worried about as a child that seems silly now looking back? How did your parents (or other adults) help you navigate that worry?

2. If you could guarantee one thing about your future (or your children's future), what would it be? Why that particular thing? What does your answer reveal about what you value most?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The sermon addressed child dedication but clarified it's not guaranteeing salvation or promising perfect parenting. What is actually happening when parents dedicate their children? How is this different from baptism or "making decisions for them"? Why is this distinction important?

2. Peter says to "submit to all human authority" and do good "even if it means suffering" (1 Peter 2:13-15, 18-19). The sermon acknowledged life isn't always fair—bosses can be unreasonable, the world feels hostile, and we can't control much. How do we balance honoring authority and doing good with setting healthy boundaries or addressing genuine injustice?

3. The sermon emphasized that Jesus "left his case in the hands of God" continuously and repeatedly—not just once (1 Peter 2:23). Why is the repeated, ongoing nature of entrusting so important? How is this different from a one-time decision to "let go and let God"?

4. Jesus could have called down legions of angels and stopped His suffering at any point, but He chose not to because He trusted the Father's judgment. What does it cost us to entrust situations to God rather than "taking matters into our own hands"? Can you share a time when you struggled to let God handle something instead of controlling it yourself?

5. Peter gives Jesus two titles: "Shepherd" (who feeds, leads, protects, pursues) and "Guardian" (who watches over and never looks away). Which of these images speaks most powerfully to you right now—the tender Shepherd or the vigilant Guardian? Why? What situation in your life needs that particular aspect of Jesus's care?

6. The sermon said: "Sheep aren't smart animals... We're the same. We need someone to watch over us, to lead us, to come looking when we wander." This is humbling. How comfortable are you with admitting you're like a sheep that needs a shepherd? What does pride prevent us from entrusting to God?

7. Verse 25 says, "Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd." For those who are believers: can you share (as much as you're comfortable) your personal story of wandering and turning to the Shepherd? What brought you back?

8. The sermon listed specific parenting moments as opportunities to entrust: first steps, first day of school, first heartbreak, teenage years, etc. For parents/grandparents: which stage or milestone is hardest for you to entrust to God? For non-parents: what equivalent milestones or transitions in your own life have required this kind of repeated trust?

9. The sermon said the Shepherd "doesn't require perfect parents. He just requires parents who keep entrusting their children to Him." How does this truth free us from the pressure to be perfect (whether as parents, employees, church members, or Christians)? Where do you need to hear this message of grace over perfection today?

10. The sermon ended by inviting everyone to participate in entrusting: parents re-entrusting children, people facing uncertainty entrusting themselves, and wanderers coming home. What (or who) do you need to actively entrust to the Shepherd this week? What specific fears, anxieties, or control issues do you need to open your hands and release to God's care?