“I Am The Good
Shepherd”
Therefore Jesus said
again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come
before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I
am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go
out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. The man runs away because he is a
hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good
shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and
I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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. The reason my Father
loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 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.”
John
10:7-18
People do not like
change. It hurts. It requires effort. There is a fear of the unknown. But we
cannot grow in Christ unless we change. Accept it. Embrace it.
Change is both
inevitable and necessary. If everything remains the same we cannot grow in any
way. We have a Shepherd who guides us through change and leads us to a better
place. Getting there may be difficult, as it was for the Israelites in reaching
the Promised Land. They got there, but only with the help of God. We can and
will get there as well.
Not all change is
pleasant, but when we are being led to a better place by someone who loves us, and
we don’t need to fear it.
Faith in
Christ will keep us steady in the stormy sea of change.
Our Daily Bread –