Read: John 10:10-18
I am the good shepherd. (v. 14)
Every year, our church puts on a Christmas pageant. We cast the children of the congregation in familiar Nativity roles, from a couple of young girls as angels to a trio of elementary-aged boys as wise men. And every year, maybe because of the size of the costumes, we cast a few toddlers as sheep. The bigger kids practice where to stand and what to say. But the sheep just waddle around. Sometimes those little two- and three-year-olds literally roll all over the stage! Whoever gets cast as a shepherd has a real job to do, keeping track of our sheep.
Jesus has a big job to do, too, when he shepherds us. And he is not just the kind of shepherd who tells his sheep where to go. Jesus is “the good shepherd” who actually “lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). What kind of shepherd would put the lives of his sheep above his own life? Only Jesus himself. How deeply we have been loved, by the Good Shepherd of our souls.
Do you know that you have been claimed and loved by the Good Shepherd? That Jesus delights in you as much as the parents of a fuzzy-sheep-costumed toddler delight to see their baby up on stage in the Christmas pageant? That Jesus is such a good shepherd, he values your life even more than his own? Take a moment now to simply receive the good news that Jesus cares for you.
As you pray, ask God to show you how much he delights in you.
About the Author
Sarah Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. She lives with her husband and their four teenage children in Oregon.
