The Shepherd Who Came Back for Them

In 2018, when the Camp Fire tore through Paradise, California, school bus driver Kevin McKay refused to abandon his route. With flames closing in on both sides of Pentz Road, forty children screaming behind him, and his own home already burning to ash, McKay kept driving. He sang songs with the kids to keep them calm. He told them they were going to be okay — and he meant it.

But here is what makes the story extraordinary. McKay was not the first driver assigned to that route. The original driver had called in, overwhelmed by the chaos. The children were stranded at their stops, waiting for someone who was not coming. McKay volunteered to go back into the fire zone and gather every last one of them.

Jeremiah knew something about scattered flocks. The shepherds of Israel — the kings, priests, and prophets — had abandoned God's people, driven them into exile, and left them exposed to every danger. "You have scattered my flock and driven them away," the Lord declared, "and you have not attended to them."

But the Almighty did not leave His people waiting at the stop. He promised to gather them Himself and to raise up a righteous Branch from David's line — one who would reign with justice, one whose very name would be Yahweh Tsidkenu, "The Lord Our Righteousness."

When every other shepherd fails, God drives straight into the fire.