Skip to main content

The Door, The Gate

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7 KJV)


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

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more