Read John 10:3-10 NLT
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
We are dog people. We have always had a dog, and our kids now each have multiple dogs. There are almost as many dogs as there are people at our family gatherings! Most of our dogs were just puppies when we got them, but we learned very quickly that they needed a little training to keep them safe. We worked to help our pups learn simple verbal commands like sit, stay, no, off, and come. Most of the time, they did pretty well. They still needed reprimands from time to time, though. We also discovered over the years that our pups listened far better to those who live in our home than they did to those who did not. This is for one simple reason. Ours were the voices our dogs heard the most. Our voices were the ones they knew they could trust. We are the ones who cared for them.
There is a lot of truth in that for us, too. Just as our dogs learned to trust us and to trust our voices, God longs for us to trust Him, too. He wants us to know that we can trust His voice in our lives because he cares for us. He goes out before us and calls us to Him. We are safe in his care, and we are able to flourish in His leading. Knowing His voice takes time; Intentional time being with God, learning about Him and learning about his love. There is no shortcut to a relationship with God, but the blessings that come from knowing Him are endless!
