Jesus called us sheep.
God through the writers of the Bible talked about the sheep who went
astray, and the facts are in on sheep.
They aren’t the brightest animals in the barn. But the relationship between the shepherd and
the sheep is an incredibly important one.
John 10:3-4 NLT
The
gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come
to him. He calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out. After
he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him
because they know his voice.
Notice the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep
and how there is comfort, strength and protection, yet the most important word
here is relationship.
The sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice.
We can know the voice of God.
What makes it easy to recognize is the fact that we’ve heard it a
lot. We’ve talked. We’ve listened. We’ve enjoyed time in His presence. The sheep found that the shepherd’s voice
calms their fears, allows them to enjoy the place where they are, and the
shepherd’s voice was directed toward His sheep.
That is true of God.
The sheep hear His voice and come to Him.
We can and must listen to God’s voice, and in turn respond by
coming to Him. By coming to God we will
find the resources we need for this life and for eternity. Coming to God takes faith. You have to set aside fears and
failures. Then you find stronger faith
and success.
He calls his sheep by name.
Our relationship with God is personal. He not only knows our name, but He calls us
by name. He loves us and desires to
spend time with us as well as to bless our lives in ways we cannot even
imagine. A shepherd was there to provide
and protect the sheep, and the shepherd was also there to nurture them one at a
time. God does that to us as we hear His
voice, we come to Him and listen even closer.
The shepherd walks ahead of the sheep.
God goes ahead of us.
He knows where we are, and He knows where we are going. It is a great relationship because both,
sheep and shepherd, have a connection.
God connects to us as our creator and as our Savior. We connect to God by accepting Jesus and by
following Him each day. Sheep often try
to go their own only to realize the safest, strongest and best place is with
the shepherd.
John 10:9-11 NLT
Yes, I am
the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.[b] They will come and go
freely and will find good pastures. 10 The
thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a
rich and satisfying life. 11 “I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
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