ENFOLDED
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Opening Prayer
Show me, Lord, what I need from you today. Help me to depend on you as I seek to do your will.
Read JOHN 10:11–21
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘… he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.’1
‘How is your church going?’ asked a friend yesterday. Depending on my mood and recent events, I observe different things. I visualize the people who are not there because they are distracted or have lost their faith because they are wounded, disappointed, or bitter. I watch those damaged by family or circumstance or church, both struggling and responding to the healing touch of Jesus. In worship, I marvel at God’s Spirit transforming lives through groups and conversations amid all our fallibilities. It is amazing to witness.
This image of Jesus enlarges my vision for church, charging it with fresh expectation. Because he is the Good Shepherd: the noble, faithful, worthy Shepherd. No less than five times here, he describes himself as laying down his life. From their lambing, he actively watches over his sheep. He is alert to the ravaging wolves and robbers outside the fold. He recognizes the threats from inside when undershepherds prize pay above protection. By contrast, Jesus gives up his time, strength, energy, and sleep for their safety. He reveals intimate knowledge of each sheep and, in the face of danger, he faces the fate that would otherwise be theirs. As death threats against him grow, Jesus is utterly in control. He will give his life: it will not be stolen from him. Inextricably tied to laying down his life is his resurrection, when he takes it up again.
This is our winsome Shepherd. We are included in his heart’s reach. We, too, are gathered into his sacrificial life and death, into intimacy with the Father. As I stand with the sinful and the sorrowful, the gifted and the grumpy, to receive the body and blood of Christ in communion, I recognize my place and purpose in the Shepherd’s plan for the scattered and lost. I am filled with wonder and hope.
Apply
How is your church? What do you observe? What, by faith, do you grasp of the Shepherd’s purpose for those outside the fold?
Closing prayer
Good Shepherd, thank you that I am in your fold today, that you are my protection. Thank you for giving your life so that I could be safe today and for eternity.
1 Ps 95:7
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