Listen

So Jesus spoke again, “I assure you that I am the gate of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and outlaws, but the sheep didn’t listen 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 enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.

John 10:7-10

Think

You might have heard the cautionary description, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” In our verses today, Jesus suggests there are thieves in shepherds’ clothing. Sheep were valuable assets in ancient Israel and livestock theft was common. Sheep are susceptible to being led astray and vulnerable to ending up in the wrong pasture, or worse.

Likewise, we are susceptible to being led by false shepherds. Jesus reiterates that he is the gate to the sheep pasture, he is the true shepherd, and the one we are to follow. We must fortify ourselves against things that would lead us astray like over-consumption, being overworked, brand advertising, neglecting earth care, and forgetting the homeless, to name a few.

Today’s scripture encourages us to listen only to Christ’s call on our lives and not to false claims on our lives. Jesus offers us abundant and full life. Will we listen to him?

Katie Cashwell

Pray

Good Shepherd, guide me this day, in big and small ways.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

Amen.

Go

Your sure provisions gracious God
attend me all my days;
oh, may your house be my abode,
and all my work be praise.
Here would I find a settled rest,
while others go and come;
no more a stranger, nor a guest,
but like a child at home.

from “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need” (Isaac Watts, 1719)