Truly, truly I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.
John 10: 1-5
I read this on Saturday morning and instantly had a little scene play out in my mind. Jesus was at the gate calling, "Come now, little sheep! It's time to go" in that sweet sort of voice you use to talk to a small child. I'd been out in the field running around and gleefully came trotting up to Him exclaiming, "Here I am! I'm Your little sheep!" It was a joyful meeting: I sensed His pleasure at my coming when He called. He was glad to see me and I was excited to be with Him. He was leading me and protecting me and wanted me and I wanted to follow His voice with a childlike trust. I knew He had a serious responsibility but it was ok with Him for me to be my playful little sheep self. And while it flashed across my mind's screen, I knew it wasn't just an allegorical vision, but was actually happening in the spiritual realm while I sat in my prayer chair in my bedroom.
A couple of thoughts about this:
- First, I've long prayed for a face to face encounter with Jesus. He answered my prayer in a
very sweet, loving way that shows me how He sees me.
- second, I know His voice! This makes me very excited.
- and third, He said, "It's time to go" - where's He taking me? My initial sense is that He's gathering His Body to wrap things up. More than ever, we need to stay close to the Word and in tune with His Voice.
Keep your lamps burning and stay awake!
Jesus is calling.
No comments:
Post a Comment