Words from the Rock
I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. . . . This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.
John 10:14–15, 17–18 Message
What’s the greatest gift anyone can give? Jesus tells us it’s the ultimate sacrifice—to give up a life for someone else—and that’s exactly what he’s going to do. He will give all he has to give so we can have all he’s promised us. It’s no small thing. He surrenders his life so we can have eternal life. What a gift! Yet it’s a gift that so many take for granted. Or worse, they reject it.
Maybe we take Jesus for granted because we really aren’t so very different from sheep. Imagine a young man who has always wanted to be a shepherd. He practiced herding lambs as a child. He’s honed his rock-pitching and spear-throwing skills (to scare away predators), and he’s gotten into great shape so he can easily keep up with the sheep. He’s even researched the best grassy slopes and cleanest streams. He finally gets his shepherding job and takes it very seriously. He always counts the sheep. He gives them names. He tends to their wounds. He even sings them to sleep at night.
But one dark night, a hungry lion decides to attack the herd. As the lion approaches the sleeping sheep, the shepherd throws rocks and spears at it, and finally, just in the nick of time, he tackles the lion. He manages to kill the beast with his knife, but in the midst of the battle the shepherd himself is killed. The sheep continue sleeping, unaware of what’s just happened, with no idea of the price of their safety.
Jesus doesn’t want you to be like a dozing sheep, oblivious to what it cost to protect you. Instead, he wants you to come to him, spend time with him, and be like the happy sheep, answering quickly when you hear your shepherd’s voice.
My Prayer
Dear God,
I don’t want to be like one of those sleeping sheep. I want to always appreciate the price you paid by allowing Jesus to die for me. Thank you for giving your all for me.
Amen.
Final Word
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
Revelation 21:3 NIV
Stone for the Journey
Jesus gave his life so that I could have life.