"I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me." These words from Jesus in John's Gospel offer profound comfort in a world where we often feel like strangers, orphans, or forgotten souls.
What story are you telling yourself? It might be limiting what you can see. Like the pastor who couldn't find his guitar because he was convinced someone had left it in the car—when it was safely stored in his office in an unexpected case—we often miss God's provision because it doesn't match our expectations. Our personal narratives create blindness that prevents us from recognizing the good shepherd's care that surrounds us.
The message explores how Jesus, immediately after healing physical blindness, addresses our spiritual blindness by declaring himself the good shepherd. This isn't just a comforting metaphor—it's a revolutionary identity that reshapes how we understand our place in God's story. We aren't abandoned lambs trying to survive on our own; we're known, protected, and guided by the one who says, "No one can snatch them from my hand."
Through a powerful story of a novice shepherd who saved freezing lambs and transformed his relationship with his previously hostile flock, we see how Christ's sacrifice changes everything. The sheep who once knocked the shepherd down began to follow him faithfully after experiencing his life-saving intervention—just as we follow Christ when we truly comprehend what He's done for us.
The invitation is clear: bend your heart toward the good, toward love, toward unity. Whatever burdens you carry, whatever blindness prevents you from seeing God's provision, open your hands and exhale. The good shepherd is with you, and nothing—not trouble, calamity, persecution, or even death itself—can separate you from His perfect love.
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In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake