Journey through John 10:1-3

Good Morning Church Family – Journey Through John

Read John 10:1-3
 
Devo Thought: A little over eight years ago our family got a dog. Her name is Maggie. She is a boxer-lab mix, and she is the best dog I’ve ever had. I think her behavior is a direct result of the way I decided to train her. I got a book when she was a puppy entitled “The Art of Raising a Puppy.” The book is written by a group of monks that raise German Shepherds. One of the things that they talk about early on in the book is the fact that the dog will respond to the voice of his or her “alpha.” In short, an “alpha” is the one the dog sees as the authority. That’s the voice the dog will listen to over all other voices. I took this to heart and made sure Maggie knew that I was her “alpha.” While she is good about listening to the kids, she knows when I or Julie are talking to her, and she responds. This is part of what Jesus is talking about in this passage today. He starts into an extended metaphor. In it, he will compare himself to a shepherd (and later on a door). He will talk about the gatekeeper (that’s God the Father). Finally, he will talk about his sheep (that’s us). One of the things he makes clear in this metaphor is that his sheep will hear his voice and respond to it. Just like dogs, research shows that sheep are able to distinguish the voice of their shepherd apart from the voices of others. The question for us to consider today is, do we consider Jesus as the voice of authority in our lives? Do we respond to him when he speaks? Does that response look like obedience? If not, it probably means that we don’t see Jesus as our “alpha,” our shepherd.  
 
Let us ask God to help us to hear and listen to the voice of our good shepherd, Jesus.