He Loves Me

-
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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sacred - Just As I Am

-
Image
Some of my favorite places to walk are cathedrals or temples when they are not in use. There is a feeling I cannot find anywhere else but there and in nature. The space holds a stillness and quiet that’s unmatched. It can feel vast with its arches, windows, pillars, and light. It can fold me tightly in its comparable smallness to God. There are few man-made things that give me that feeling. One such church is the Chartres Cathedral in France. I was able to visit during Easter weekend one year and it really was spectacular. There were so many things that gave it a feeling of comfort for me. So many features that brought my attention back to my Creator and just set my heart at ease. I felt peace…. Just peace. Many of us have heard that our bodies are a temple. This scripture is often quoted, spoken on, and for me can be a constant reminder of how poorly I care for my physical and mental being, but it shouldn’t be. Or at least that’s what God wanted me to hear to day.  " Don’t you kn
Read more
-
I wonder... what did I want to be when I grew up? I don't remember too much and mom could probably shed some interesting, if not shameful light on the subject but what did I want to become? An air force pilot? A ballerina? A muscle-lady, as my daughter calls professional body building women? Maybe a teacher. Could it be that I really wanted to be a mom all my life and now I am one? That's too easy. I've had this feeling that there was something more out there for me to do but I just couldn't nail it down. Church always told me that I had to have a ministry, as if my life wasn't full enough without it. Ok, so then who do I minister to? People get along just fine without me so it seems silly to interject myself into their lives for my own self-fulfillment. So, back to my question... what do I want to be when I grow up? Maybe the question should be what does God want me to be? I am a mom and that's a huge job all on it's own. Teach them to walk, talk, love, eat
Read more

... In Love

-
Image
I went to a private Christian school for my elementary years and one of the requirements throughout the years was the memorization of scripture. It was something I actually liked doing, although I can't say I remember more than 4 or 5 long passages and a handful of verses, but one such passage that "stuck" was 1 Corinthians 13. I'm currently going through that chapter, taking it one verse at a time. I don't know if I have ever done it so slowly before. It affords an almost out of context focus on their meanings.  Today was verse three:  "If I give away all I possess to the poor, and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."  First, it seemed interesting that we could gain anything by surrendering. Why would that be a motivator? Sadly, I'm guessing that humans don't do much of anything without some promise of gain. Paul, the writer, knew that.  I tabled that thought and went on to the meaning of the word surrender. To su
Read more