He Loves Me

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I've been reading John and when I hit chapter 10 it was like I slowed to a crawl. There was so much to pull from it that I had to slow down! The section I just finished was the one where Jesus talks about being the good shepherd. Many of us have heard the part, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy...." but I wonder if anyone has bothered to read past that. I never had until today.
Jesus says that he is the good shepherd who will lay down his life for his sheep but a hired hand will flee at the coming of a wolf. The hired hand does not care for the flock as Jesus does and therefore will run away to save himself. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock.
I got to wondering if the "hired hands" Jesus talks about are those who are in ministry for the wrong reasons. Many who minister for the right reasons work daily to remain in tune with God's desires and are extensions of the Shepherd's staff, ready for any attack. But some lose their way, get disconnected from God and when trouble comes, they run away and leave their church vulnerable, hurt, and shaken. Spiritual casualties will be suffered, wounds will be inflicted, and some Christians will end up wandering.
God, however, will not leave us to face evil alone. He will stand and fight for us. He will die for us (vs 11). God doesn't just fight for us, either. He knows us and we, if we spend enough time with him, will know him, too. We can know his voice only when we are listening for it and reading his Word (vs 14).
Christ chose to die for me. For you. He could not have been killed otherwise. He was asked by his Father, God, if he would be willing to save my life by giving his up and fighting to secure my soul. God loved me enough to ask this of his Son so that he could have me for a daughter. (vs 17).
Something about that just won't let me go. He will never leave me. He saved my life. He fights for me. All because he WANTS to. He loves me. He loves you.
Pretty dang cool.

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