Preserved

Preserved!

John 10:11 AMPC

[11] I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.

This account of the good shepherd are words directly said by Jesus Himself. No other person could have said those words with the same conviction, and the backing of God the Father too. What is the message here? First, Jesus knew who He was, and what His assignment on earth was. There was nothing that powerful or enticing to distract Him from the work He had purposed to do. Picture the image of a shepherd: the life of sacrifice, toil and labour for the good of the sheep. Reflect on the accounts of David, and you get the sense of who a shepherd is. He puts himself in harm's way, in order to protect the sheep from danger. He finds pastures for the sheep so they can eat in peace, and also lie down in safety, for rest and nourishment. He takes the time to know the sheep personally, and as the chapter from where the verse above is taken makes clear, He even calls them out by name. 

That is a personal touch that cannot be faked by just anyone; it is the result of careful and deliberate action: to know the sheep, so that if anything goes wrong at anytime, the shepherd is fully aware, and knows what to do. If this is the work of a shepherd, and the verse above refers to a good one, it means that there are bad ones too. Anyone can claim to lead some sheep, which are naturally docile and can be easily led astray, but God wants me to know the good version, who cares about the sheep, no matter how few or many. He also does not delegate His work to another; He takes it on, and does it well. This is why no other sacrifice can be better than the one this good shepherd has made for the sheep. He did not wait for the sheep to make it worth the sacrifice; He paid the sacrifice first, knowing that even if it is only one sheep that is kept safe, it was worth it. 

In that is also a warning: for all that the good shepherd has done, there would be eternal consequences to rejecting Him forever. Think of all He did to bring us to a place where we could choose, of our freewill, to accept Him as Lord and Saviour of our lives. He did not wait for me to be worthy, but be sure that He will demand an account for the life that He paid such a high price to secure. Even though I may claim that my life is my own, it truly is not. By the law of redemption, whoever paid the price of redemption of that which was condemned, now owns that life. As Jesus has fully paid that price, He actually owns all of us. While I still have the power to choose, I must willingly submit to Him. A day comes soon when grace expires, and judgment is done by the One who risked His life for me. May that sacrifice not be in vain in my life. Amen. God's time of favour is here.