Optimist Roundtable 4/22
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” These words are from the gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 3 and 4. This passage reminds us a great deal about Jesus being our shepherd.
We are already familiar with the words in the 23rd Psalm as it reminds us that the Lord is our Shepherd, but in this portion of scripture it tells us of how our Shepherd goes before us, leads the way for us, and calls out to us and we know His voice.As He prepares the way for us, it means that the Shepherd has already been there and He will make a path that is clear and safe for us to go to.There may be bumps in the path, or there may be hardships along the way, or tough times, but our Shepherd is there to get us through whatever comes our way. He has prepared the way, no matter how long or how rugged the path may be. All we have to do is continue to listen to His voice.
I would like to share this story that a minister told after he and his wife went on a trip. “My wife and I saw this happen right before our eyes one afternoon in Israel.It was a beautiful spring day and after lunch we went to the roof of the restaurant to see the view.As we looked out over the city, we noticed a large pasture. All of a sudden, from two directions, we saw a couple of shepherds bringing their flocks through the grassy area. Both of them had around 25-30 sheep apiece.The sheep continued into the pasture while the two shepherds stood at the gate exchanging greetings. We wandered around the side of the roof and looked and then wandered back.
Just about the time we got there, one of the shepherds opened the gate and hollered something. I don’t know what it was but the sheep sure did. All the heads of the sheep in his flock came up. He hollered something else and here they came.I wish I’d had a video camera because there was the truth of this passage right before our very eyes.”
The Good Shepherd promises to lead us to green pastures and beside the still waters. He promises to restore our souls and leads us through the valley of the shadow of death.The voice of our Shepherd is there to whisper His love for us and is calling out to us, hoping that we will hear His voice and want to have that close relationship with Him.His voice goes before us to lead the way, His voice guides us through the pathway of life,and His voice is always there to protect us from the fears of this life. The Shepherd loves us all, even those who don’t want anything to do with Him. He even cares for those sheep who wander away, or who are distracted by that little clump of a brighter spot of greenery and suddenly find themselves separated from the rest of the flock. All we have to do is tune our hearts, our very souls, and our ears to hear the voice of our Shepherd in order to follow Him.
