Thoughts for the Day

'Very truly I tell you.....the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers'. Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, 'Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep....whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture...I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.'

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I once had a rescue dog, Oggie - a deaf dalmation. She had a dreadful habit of escaping and once off the lead it was impossible to get her to return, although she would respond to hand signals to some extent. However, her inability to respond to a call or a whistle could be a problem. We lived on an active airbase, and it was not unusual for my husband to get a call from an irate controller to say the dog was on the airfield.

Those of us who know sheep will also know they can't be called, although in Palestine it is not unusual as we saw on a previous Thought about the Good Shepherd (on 4th April), for them to follow their shepherd.

Jesus uses the analogy of the Good Shepherd and the sheep to speak of His relationship with us. He is the Good Shepherd, and He calls us by name. He knows each one of us, He knows our weaknesses and our strengths, and we have recognised that He offers all the love and security that God is gracious enough to give us. Today, we remind ourselves that we need to "stay within call" of the Good Shepherd.

Lord Jesus,
help us to stay close to you,
and not to go astray
but to respond to your call each day
and continue to follow you.
Amen