John 10:3-4 – To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
THEME OF THE DAY: SHEEP EARS. My grandmother lived out in the country. To get to her house, the journey went through a pasture. The road was “iffy” at best. Some trips the road was impassable due to weather. The mode of travel became foot. In the pasture lived sheep. I remember certain things about these animals.
First, they wouldn’t give me the time of day. I could yell, “Here sheep, here sheep”, and it was like yelling to the wind. Another thing irked me about these sheep. I couldn’t get close to them. Even sneaking up close and whispering, “here sheep, here sheep” was met with a “sheep shrug” and off they went. All I wanted to do was pet them, but, nope, into their little flocks and down the path they scurried. A third thing I remember; sheep wander. I saw a few of those little fellows drifting away from the flock. It was like they needed to check out pastures outside their own. Finally, when the sheep were close to Mr. Paul, their shepherd, they didn’t hesitate to heed his voice.
The Bible calls God’s people “sheep.” I saw firsthand some good reasons why. Yet my shallow lessons don’t even touch the tip of the iceberg when plunging the depths of what it means to be a sheep in the fold of the Lord Jesus. J.C. Ryle wrote, “God’s children, His real believing people, are compared to sheep, because they are gentle, quiet, harmless, and inoffensive; because they are useful and do good to all around them; because they love to be together, and dislike separation; and because they are very helpless and wandering and liable to stray.” Pretty good, huh? Do we find those very characteristics in our lives? Were we able to read Ryle’s description and nod, “Yep, that’s me. Yep, that one too”?
In today’s reference, twice the Lord Jesus reminds us of what distinguishes His sheep – “they hear and know His voice”. As a result, they follow Him (John 10:4). With that guidance, let’s do a “check-up” on our “sheep ears”.
In order to hear, one must be within range of the voice of the Shepherd. When I saw a wandering sheep, it was far away from its buddies acting independently. If the shepherd called, this wandering one would not have been able to hear. What about our sheep ears for hearing the Shepherd? Are we so close to the Lord Jesus that we hear and respond immediately when the whisper of His Spirit says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up” (Ephesians 4:29)? What about when the Shepherd says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24): If the so called “green pastures” of the world (the pastures of self-interest, self-service, ease, materialism, or complacency to name a few) are sought by wandering sheep, the voice of the Shepherd goes quiet. However, that does not mean the Shepherd is disinterested. On the contrary. Wander outside the range of His voice and we may not hear Him, but it won’t be long until we FEEL Him. It will be His rod. His rod of correction (Hebrews 12:7-11). So, how are the ears today, fellow sheep? Are we hearing His voice or feeling His rod? Both are love by actions by the Shepherd of our souls designed to keep us close to His side!
Prayer: “Good Shepherd, thank you for being such to us! And thank you for bringing us back when we go to pastures of our own choosing.”
Quote: J.C. Ryle, “Christ’s sheep hear His voice, they take His Word for their rule and guide.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,