Then said Jesus unto them again,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7 KJV)
In the Odyssey, Odysseus finds himself and his men captives of a Cyclops, a giant with one eye. He blinds the Cyclops. I always thought the next bit of the story clever. The Cyclops lays down across the threshold of his sheep pen, and before letting the sheep out to graze, he runs his hand along the back of the sheep. I've discovered that it's not quite as clever as I thought. Lying down the opening of a sheepfold was common practice. Good shepherds were the door. That's how they knew if any sheep tried to get out, and how they kept predators from getting in. Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense for Jesus to use this illustration. What might seem like a brilliant idea to those of us who are agriculturally stupid was common sense to them.
Jesus told us that He is the Door, or the Gate. That means that any predator that wants to kill us must go through Him, and history shows that He doesn't stay dead. But if this is so, why do our lives seem so filled with predators. Does He let them through? Sometimes. Does He fail? No. Does He not care? Oh, He cares.
Two answers come to mind. The first answer is that all of those predators, even the ones who can take our physical lives can't take our spiritual, everlasting life. We are working from what we know, but what we know is wrong. Our true lives are not in danger when we are His sheep, even if our physical lives are ended. The second answer is that what is attacking us is not a predator. It's a parasite: fleas, ticks, biting flies, etc. They don't threaten our lives no matter how uncomfortable they may make us. God's solution to them is different from His solution to the predators. Sometimes it involves shearing away what we thought we needed. Sometimes it involves dipping or going through water that washes them away. Sometimes, it involves a bitter pill that makes us think we're going to die, or to wish we could die. Their presence in our lives doesn't mean He's not the Door.
Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell
you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. (John 10:7 NIV)
In the Odyssey, Odysseus finds himself and his men captives of a Cyclops, a giant with one eye. He blinds the Cyclops. I always thought the next bit of the story clever. The Cyclops lays down across the threshold of his sheep pen, and before letting the sheep out to graze, he runs his hand along the back of the sheep. I've discovered that it's not quite as clever as I thought. Lying down the opening of a sheepfold was common practice. Good shepherds were the door. That's how they knew if any sheep tried to get out, and how they kept predators from getting in. Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense for Jesus to use this illustration. What might seem like a brilliant idea to those of us who are agriculturally stupid was common sense to them.
Jesus told us that He is the Door, or the Gate. That means that any predator that wants to kill us must go through Him, and history shows that He doesn't stay dead. But if this is so, why do our lives seem so filled with predators. Does He let them through? Sometimes. Does He fail? No. Does He not care? Oh, He cares.
Two answers come to mind. The first answer is that all of those predators, even the ones who can take our physical lives can't take our spiritual, everlasting life. We are working from what we know, but what we know is wrong. Our true lives are not in danger when we are His sheep, even if our physical lives are ended. The second answer is that what is attacking us is not a predator. It's a parasite: fleas, ticks, biting flies, etc. They don't threaten our lives no matter how uncomfortable they may make us. God's solution to them is different from His solution to the predators. Sometimes it involves shearing away what we thought we needed. Sometimes it involves dipping or going through water that washes them away. Sometimes, it involves a bitter pill that makes us think we're going to die, or to wish we could die. Their presence in our lives doesn't mean He's not the Door.
Comments
Post a Comment