Today’s Scripture:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” — John 10:11 (ESV)
Reflection
Today’s passage is about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is juxtaposed to the thief and a hired hand. The one who breaks in is a thief, yet the Good Shepherd enters through the front door; the sheep do not follow the stranger, but they follow the voice of the shepherd; the thief comes to steal and destroy, but the Good Shepherd gives life; the hired hand leaves the sheep, but the Good Shepherd lays his life down for the sheep to take it up again. Jesus alone has the authority to lay down his life and take it up again. Jesus is the door that the sheep go through to find life and be saved. He has sheep that have not come to him yet, but they will join and be part of the one flock.
John 10 shows the story from the Shepherd’s perspective. To see the same story from the perspective of the sheep, I went to Psalm 23, which is the very famous “The Lord is my Shepherd” Psalm that we memorized a few months ago. Psalm 23 is about the Shepherd’s constant care and restoration of his people, but it goes even deeper than the green pastures and still waters. Even through the valley of the shadow of death, the sheep fears no evil, for the Shepherd is with him. Even in the midst of enemies, the Shepherd prepares a table to bless the sheep and gives it security. I think the last line of Psalm 23, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” is alluded to in John 10. Jesus is the door that lets the sheep into the house, and his sheep will never be taken away from him (John 10:29 oops, I’m going a little too far). I’m at school in a study period right now, and I got a bit emotional while writing this, but I think God was trying to remind me that I am one of his sheep. Even when I go through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus is here to comfort me. I hope and pray that I will never forget that.
Bonus story time! After wopo practice yesterday, I was waiting outside for my mom to come pick me up. While I was looking out at nature, I was reflecting on life and God guiding me through life, and I recited Psalm 23 out loud to myself. It’s crazy how God put that scripture into my heart yesterday, and now I get to reflect on it again today. Nothing is by coincidence; it is by God’s providence. The fact that I recited this yesterday, meditated on it today, AND that it is on my bathroom mirror (Jane’s side) tells me that God is trying to reach me through these words. God truly works in amazing ways.