1"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
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11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." - John 10
anddddd
"9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever." - Psalm 28
on their own, all sheep are equally lost in the pastures. even if there is a shepherd to guide, the only sheep that make it home are those that actively follow the shepherd. it is not enough to merely intend to follow him, or to speak about following without any action to back up those words. sometimes i think the church is like a group of sheep huddled up, talking and talking and talking about how to follow the shepherd, when if they would just turn around they would see he is right there with them already, beckoning to them to follow. to just come and follow.
anyways, when jesus speaks he mentions that a watchman opens the gate for the shepherd to come in, and then the shepherd calls to his sheep. im imaging that the church should be the watchmen, looking for opportunities to open the gate and make it easier for the shepherd to enter into the lives of the lost sheep.
god, let me be both a meek sheep following you in humble silence and gratefulness, and a watchman constantly seeking to open doors for you into the lives of others
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