John 10:22-42

I really like Jesus. As I read through this gospel I'm drawn to Him.

Today the passage that stood out for me among the ending of this 10th chapter were verses 25-30:

Jesus answered, "I told you, but you don't believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind."

If you read the entire section you'll see that these verses come on the heels of the Jews asking him if He is the Messiah. There are 6 things here that Jesus says about His followers, and, since I'm a follower of His, these of course interested me:

• We recognize His voice
• He knows us
  
• We follow Him
• He gives us real and eternal life
• We are protected from the destroyer for good
• No one can steal us away from Jesus

Today, and over the next few days, I want to meditate on these 6 truths about followers of Jesus and look up other scriptures on the same themes. So I'll take the straightforward approach and just look at each of these separately.

We recognize His voice
Earlier in this same passage, at the 14th verse, Jesus said the same thing - that His followers know Him and His voice. John Darby, in his synopsis of the bible, has this to say about Jesus' sheep/followers knowing His voice:

" The sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. There are many other voices, but the sheep do not know them. Their safety consists, not in knowing them all, but in knowing that they are not the one voice which is life to them-the voice of Jesus. All the rest are the voices of strangers."

How true indeed that "there are many other voices" in our lives! The voice of my culture, my sons, my mother, my husband, the media. I find this whole subject so very interesting because I know that in my own mind there are many voices and my experience has been that the voice of God is in there with the rest of them but doesn't really sound any different. That only as I spend time in the word and prayer do I learn to distinguish and recognize His voice and then am faced with the choice to obey or not. How it works for me is, if I am recognizing it as God's voice in my head, I follow. I think that it's when I'm distracted and not following in the first place that I don't see it as His voice. Does this make sense?

Oh Father, may I turn away from my selfish ways and always stay aware of and in thanksgiving to You. May I choose to listen to and follow You voice today.

It makes sense that I would be more able to distinguish God's voice in my mind in light of the point that McGarvey and Pendleton's bible commentary makes about these verses:

"Our Lord's relationship to his flock is one of mutual knowledge and affection, and is far removed from the spirit of hire. The knowledge existing between disciple and Master springs from mutual acquaintanceship and love."

If it springs from mutual acquaintanceship the of course I need to spend time with Him to get to know His voice. Affection and relationship are growing things, not instantaneous.

Oh Father, help me throughout today to become more acquainted with You. Thank You that You love me and want to be my Master. That You count me as Yours and have forgiven and covered over my sins!

John Wesley had the following to say about both verse 14 & verse 26 of John 10:

"14-I know my sheep - With a tender regard and special care: and am known of mine - With a holy confidence and affection."

"26- Ye do not believe, because ye are not of my sheep - Because ye do not, will not follow me: because ye are proud, unholy, lovers of praise, lovers of the world, lovers of pleasure, not of God."

I'm attracted to this thought of Wesley's that God has confidence in me. It could surely only be because of what Jesus can do through me! Then when Wesley describes those who do not follow after Jesus I am hit with the fact that I struggle with being a lover of praise and a lover of pleasure.

Of Father, thank You that You've made me Your sheep. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Please help me not be sure a needer and lover of praise from others - help me seek only to please You. Help me not to be so simple and low, like my dog, and be a love of pleasure. May I love You more than any pleasure this world has to offer!