I am the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11)
“The Lord is my Shepherd, he calls me by name and I follow him into abundant life” is a perfectly appropriate Christian testimony. Yet, when one pauses and reflects on what this truly means, it is not surprising that some might label such a claim presumptuous or deluded. Do we really believe that God, the creator of heaven and earth, the Eternal One who is unconstrained by time or space became flesh and called us by name? Yes! Indeed we believe the Good Shepherd laid down his life for us (Jn. 10:11, 15, 17).However, the true beauty of what Christ does (“Good” can be translated “beautiful”) is far greater than simply our personal relationship of love and trust with the Shepherd. Christ calls “sheep” from every nation, so that “there will be one flock, one shepherd” (10:16)
In this time of tension, division and conflict in our nation I find hope in Christ’s mission to gather a diverse yet united flock. The highlight of my week was hearing the testimony of a Zimbabwean at our Circuit Local Preacher’s meeting. He powerfully described how Jesus had called him out of a life of sin and into a life of sharing the Gospel. We were blessed to say “Brother we hear your call, we affirm your call, you are one with us”.
God Bless,
Sean