The Good Shepherd!
As always, Jesus had a crowd following Him everywhere He went. Just before today's verse, He had healed a man born blind, and had used that incident to teach the crowd, the Pharisees and his disciples lessons about His life, mission and eternal plan for all mankind. This incident holds several lessons for us in this present generation, and it is important for me, just like the audience in those days, to define who I am, where I fit and what God expects from me. For every opportunity God gives me to hear His Word, He demands a response or reaction from me. Like all times, Jesus seeks to reach out to everyone with the message of hope and life. It doesn't matter what the past or present looks like; Jesus seeks to give me a new, clean and fresh start if I will just come to Him and accept the free gift of life that has been provided for me in Christ. Jesus seems to use sheep a lot in His parables to identify those who are under His command and authority. He does not force Himself on anyone, but as many as would come will be accepted by Him.
The Contention:
He calls Himself the door of the sheep. Anyone who
seeks to identify with Jesus must come to Him; anyone who will approach the
Father must come in through Jesus. No other key of access has been
provided. For every door that God wants to open, there is a key that gives
access. For every life that needs to be saved, there is a particular step
expected. Think of the fact that God does not waste words or make empty
promises. He is faithful and committed to his word. Once he makes a promise or
pronouncement, He is bound by what He says. He may change his mind on approach
or direction, but He will never change or dilute his principles. When he
declares that He is the Good shepherd, I must sit down and consider His
antecedents: can He speak in this way? Does He have the capacity and the
capability to speak in this manner? Does He have any testimonial to the fact
that He has done this before? He does not just call Himself a shepherd, but a
good one. It means that in this world, you will find all sorts of shepherds.
There are some who are there only for what they can get out of the sheep.
The Conclusion:
People can steal sheep, fleece it, milk it, kill it for the skin, even the bones; all have uses and profit. Think of it in the spiritual: I am profitable. All parts of me are profitable. Why would you think the devil is interested in destroying God's plan for you? Why is God so invested in me, so that I can be all He has created, gifted and placed me to be? No wonder even Jesus uses the sheep to teach most of his parables about the kingdom of heaven. Recall the story of the sheep and the goats, and you will see that places both earthly and eternal value on his sheep. Am I one? Do I belong to his fold? Does He know me as His own? What is the right reaction here then? I just need to sort out who I am, if I will live in line with the principles of God here. I can't be a goat and still want to claim the benefits and blessings reserved for the sheep. I can pretend for a while but if I think about eternity, I would not want to stand before the judgement seat of God, and then discover then that it is too late to become one of God's sheep? I must sort this out while I can. God’s time of favour is here.
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