"My sheep respond as they hear my voice; I know them intimately, and they follow me. I give them a life that is unceasing, and death will not have the last word. Nothing or no one can steal them from my hand." (John 10:28 Voice Translation)
" I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be liberated, will go in and go out and will find pastures. The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance." (John 10:9-10)
These two verses above are from the story that Jesus tells about him as the shepherd and the people as the sheep. The thief tries to steal, kill and destroy the sheep that the shepherd has watch over, but the sheep do not listen to the voice of the thief. They only listen to the voice of the shepherd because they know that they are loved and fully known by him, and that he gives them freedom to live a life of abundance and joy (John 10).
Jesus is the liberating king. He came to die for us so that we did not have to live in any kind of bondage anymore. We have the privilege of being children of God, who have been saved by grace through faith, as Paul says, and because of that we have the freedom to have a close personal relationship with Christ. Just like the sheep who knows their shepherd intimately, we can know Christ intimately. We can trust Jesus and we can draw near to him and learn to hear his voice as believers.
The thief is the devil. And the devil would love nothing more than to keep us in chains or destroy us entirely. I think its interesting that the story doesn't say how the thief tries to steal and destroy the sheep, but we know that the sheep know the voice of Jesus and they do not live in fear or even give the thief any recognition or notice. I wonder, have we forgotten how to draw near and listen to the voice of Jesus? Have we forgotten that the devil doesn't get any say over our circumstances, our souls, our hearts, or even our minds? Have we forgotten that we do not need to live in anxiety, panic, or fear? For that is not the abundant life that Jesus has given to us.
Let us be encouraged today in knowing that we have a savior who loves us intimately, and that by the power of his spirit we are free to live an abundant life with Jesus. That we do not have to listen to the devil's lies or give in to the emotions, fears, or anxieties that he tries to convince us are more real than the shepherd who delivered us from them. One of the main goals of the thief is to get us to believe that we cannot be free from what he tries to use to destroy us. But Jesus says that the devil doesn't get to have a final say. Jesus, our shepherd, does. So let us learn to draw near to the voice of Jesus once again for our deliverance and our healing.
Let us learn to know the voice of the shepherd.
Dear Lord, thank you for reminding us that we need to draw near to you and learn to listen to your voice every day. We rebuke the lies of the thief and we ask that you help us realize the freedom that we have in Christ. The freedom that says that we don't have to live in hopelessness, anxiety, or fear. Teach us to come to you for our deliverance and healing. In Jesus name, amen.
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