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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“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.”
John 10:11-13
This ends
today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we continue to
look at Jesus and who He is to us, through the words of analogies He Himself
used in the opening verses of John, Chapter 10. The analogy used by our Savior
was one grounded in sheep, their pens, and the shepherds who lead them,
something the people would have easily related to.
Yesterday, Jesus referred
Himself to the Gate, the exit point for all people who desire to dwell in
heaven forever. Those people are part of God’s flock which encompasses all
mankind. The “sheep” who go onto eternal life will be the ones who follow the
voice of their Good Shepherd as He leads them from their pen into glory. Indeed,
Jesus ensures that people know He is the only way to God the Father later in
this Gospel (John 14:6), the narrow gate people need to pass through to find
the path to life (Matthew 7:13-14).
As we continue to move
through these opening verses, we find Jesus, our Savior, revealing another
important aspect of who He is to those who would place their faith, hope, and
trust in Him. Look again at these verses:
“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.” John 10:11-13
How much does Jesus, the
Good Shepherd, care for the “sheep” (His disciples) who are a part of His
flock?
So much so that He would
be willing to die for them and indeed, we know this is just what He did. He
bore the persecution and wrongful accusation/conviction of the Pharisees,
suffering from the brutal beating and torture of the Roman soldiers, the humiliation
of carrying His own cross to His execution, and the agonizing pain of being crucified
like a common criminal, although He was completely innocent.
This is how much Jesus
was willing to endure to save anyone who would believe Him, and it all happened
because of the love of God who didn’t wish for any of His people to perish.
In the Gospel of
Matthew, Jesus would discuss His willingness to die in order to save others in
a different context. Look at His words here:
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s
friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I
have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have
made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” John 15:13-16
Jesus willingly chose to
die so anyone could have a chance to be saved from their sins. All they would
need to do is to believe in Him (John 3:16) and in doing so, become His friend,
one He would like to live with and love for all eternity.
How valued are in life?
So much so that Jesus
was willing to lay down His life and die so you might live, now and forever.
If you have already accepted
Him as your personal Savior, give thanks to Him today for His gift of salvation
and the blessed hope it brings.
If you have not yet come
to Jesus, repenting of your sins, and asking Him to save you, then today can be
the day your life changes for the better forever. Please don’t allow another
day to pass without choosing to be saved by your Sacrificing Shepherd. You may
not get a chance tomorrow.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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