John 10:1-6
I tell you for certain that only
thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the
gate to the sheep pen. But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the
shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s
voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.
When he
has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they
follow, because they know his voice. The sheep will not follow
strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.
Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Today,
I accompanied Timothy’s class on a field trip. All of the first grade
students at our elementary school rode the bus to our local community
college to participate in activities to commemorate Earth Day and to
learn about how to better care for our planet.
I arrived at the
school early this morning to help Timothy’s teacher get all of the
children dressed in color-coordinated t-shirts, so that we could more
easily identify our 16 students. Each child brought a sack lunch, and
those had to be collected and placed in a cooler for a mid-day picnic.
There was a lot to do in a short time frame.
Timothy’s classroom
is located on the west end of the school building. The front office is
almost literally a city block away. Each visitor to the school must
stop at the office and “check in” before entering a classroom. The
office personnel then press a button to unlock a door, so that the
visitor can gain access to the hallways and find his/her way to the
designated classroom.
I have to say, it’s a bit of an
inconvenience to have to go through this procedure. It would much
easier to park near Timothy’s classroom and enter through doors there.
But I am glad that this safety measure is in place. This makes everyone
feel secure. There is also resource officer on duty, and all of these
safety measures make children and parents feel relatively certain that
all persons who are in the building are authorized to be there.
The
children were very good today about sticking together and listening to
their teacher, me and another student’s mother. They did not respond to
others in the crowd…they watched for us and followed our lead. Since
there were children from several area schools at this event, we watched our “brood” closely and made sure we kept them together – and safe.
I
am so glad that our school goes to great measures protect our
children…to give them an environment where they can relax and learn with
confidence and faith that they are safe and loved. And this is what
Jesus does for us. Because He is our Shepherd and controls the gate, we
can be assured that when we follow Him, Jesus will guard us against
evil and those who wish to “jump the fence” and get us into trouble.
There
are plenty of “thieves, robbers, and strangers” who would love to grab
our attention. They lure us with all sorts of temptations…money, power,
the promise of wealth, fame, or popularity - and more. They tell us
that we can trust them…that what they are saying is the truth. And
sadly, some of us believe these lies.
Jesus is calling us to pay
attention…to get to know Him so intimately that we always recognize His
voice. He wants us to be certain that we are following the
Shepherd…and ONLY Him! When we know the voice of Jesus, we are able to
drown out the noise of all the “wannabes” and those who would dare to
try to steal our hearts from Him. We are safe and secure under His
guidance, and we can live with confidence and faith that He will meet
our every need.
Where do you stand today? Are you one of Jesus’
sheep? Do you know His voice and listen for it above all others? Is
your faith and confidence in Jesus enabling you to resist the lure and
temptation of the enemy’s voice and propositions? Isn’t it time you
figured this out, once and for all…and “put on the colored t-shirt” that
designates you are one of His flock?
Will this be the day that
you surrender to Jesus completely and begin to follow only Him? Are you
ready to feel secure with the Shepherd?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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