We live in a distracted, and distracting, world. People become confused by all the conflicting voices clambering for attention. Unfortunately, many of the voices are not based in truth, and therefore, mislead, misguide, and mistreat many people. So how does a person discern a truthful voice from an untruthful one?
For a follower of Jesus, there is a sure first step towards answering this question. In John 10, Jesus is teaching his disciples on this topic. “Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:7-10). Surrendering our whole heart to God’s order of things, and Christ’s teaching specifically, is the only way to know truth (John 8:31-32).
Jesus uses the example of tending sheep because it was a very common practice in the time he lived on earth. Sheep are interesting animals. They flock together, and they respond only to one person as their shepherd. The only way they will make a move from one place (field or pen) to another, is by following the lead of their known shepherd. Without their shepherd they are lost and unable to function.
Jesus likens sheep to people. Left to their own devices, people will become lost and directionless. Jesus speaks of himself as a shepherd and a gate when he says, ““Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers” (John 10:1-6).
So how do we hear the voice of Jesus in the midst of all the other voices in the world? God speaks through his Holy Spirit. We must first, listen for his voice. Listening is a skill that can be developed. Listening can be hard work. Resisting the temptation to assume we already have heard what we need to hear (and know what we need to know), can cause us to miss a necessary directive from God. Hearing from God begins with what he has already spoken in the Bible. The Bible is God’s voice, and listening to what it says means we believe and obey it without exception. The entire Bible is written to reveal who Jesus is, and how we should respond to him.
If we are truly in the “sheep fold” of Jesus, we surrender to his authority as the Gate. We yield to his leadership (shepherding and gate keeping). He calls the shots. He tells us where to “graze.” That is, allow our body, mind, and soul to only feed on things that are wholesome and healthy. Behaviors the Bible condemns, we condemn. Behaviors and people the Bible honors, we honor. Abundant blessings accompany this kind of lifestyle.
We recognize however that the “thief” (the devil and evil in the world) is a real opponent. The aim of evil is to “kill, steal, and destroy” as the verse above warns us. Evil presents in many voices. Failing to listen for, and hear God’s voice, leaves us vulnerable to going through the wrong gate. Not following God’s ways also makes us vulnerable to being destroyed by the thief’s evil ways.
Following the voice of Jesus puts us on the correct path. Jesus is our Shepherd. Jesus is the Gate to open and close opportunities for good or evil to triumph. The Gate governs our “coming and going” (spoken of in the verses above), and is the everyday activities of life being run through the filter of obedience to the Bible as the Word of God. The Gate guides us into refuge and protects us from the thief’s destruction. May we thank and praise Jesus the Gate, for his saving power. He died on the cross to save us from our sin condition, and was resurrected from death to life so we can have an eternal life in communion with God.
I need Jesus to be my Gate every day, and I pray that all reading this will recognize and yield to his gate-keeping as well.
by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry
