Bible Passage: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 23:1-6; John 10:11-18
I grew up in the small town of Revelstoke, BC.
We lived on the side of the mountain on a couple of acres. But there was nothing behind us but the mountain, so my siblings and I could explore as much as we wanted.
Sometimes, we’d swing on a rope my dad had tied up high on an overarching tree. Sometimes, we’d be shooting guns or arrows. Sometimes, we’d be jumping on the trampoline.
How do you wrangle five kids when they could be anywhere on the property?
Fortunately, my dad could whistle quite loudly. And he had a distinct whistle that could be heard from quite a distance. It was the same three notes every time. Whenever we heard that whistle, we knew we had to leave what we were doing and head back to the house.
I’m sure that if someone else tried to call us with a different set of notes, we wouldn’t have paid them much attention; we knew our dad’s whistle, and he was the only one we would listen to.
I love the picture Jesus paints when He identifies Himself as “The Good Shepherd.”
Back then, in order for a shepherd to collect his flock of sheep from a communal pen of many flocks, he would stand in the middle and start walking towards the gate. As he walked, he would call his sheep by name. His sheep would follow him willingly. Other sheep would shy away from him. By the time he was out the door, all his sheep were with him, while the sheep that weren’t his remained in the pen.
Jesus does the same for us.
He wanders amongst us, gently calling our names. If we follow Him, if we obey Him, it proves that we are His sheep. If we ignore Him or shy away from Him, it shows that we aren’t His sheep.
Are you following His voice? He deserves to be followed. He even laid down His life for us. He loves us that much.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for me. You know me, and You care for me. You want to bring me to green pastures and cool, clean water (Psalm 23:1-2). Help me spend more time with You so I can always recognize Your voice. Forgive me for when I have spent more time listening to others’ voices. I only want to follow You. You are a good Shepherd. You don’t run away when the going gets tough. Instead, You are right there to defend me and watch over me. Keep me from going astray. Amen.
Reflection: What are the most tempting voices for you to follow? How can you be a man who better identifies and follows Jesus’ voice?
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