Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Did you sing along with those words? Did you mentally recite them if not say them aloud? Are you one of the 'little ones'? Do you belong to Jesus?
What exactly does it mean to belong to Jesus? Do we each have our own idea of what it means? I believe we have to because so few agree with each other. You might think I'm wrong because whole denominations, whole faiths have hundreds, thousands, millions of people who join them and say they believe alike on the same principles of faith. It's true that each recognized church has their beliefs and those in that church agree to adhere to them.
Yes, there are some churches that say any and all are welcome without having to declare any beliefs, but those churches still have their basic faiths. Would they allow disruptive, violent, abusive people into their services if all those people do is cause chaos? No. They might tolerate them for a short while and try to get them to calm down and be civil, but if they carried on and on and on so that no one else could speak- they really wouldn't be allowed to stay. Therefore their beliefs include at least that one must be respectful and peaceful towards others. There are basic beliefs all churches have.
One assumes a church goer is seeking a faith and that is why they are going to a church. Still, what does it mean to belong to Jesus? Can people who go to church not belong to Jesus? Can you belong to Jesus one day and not the next day? Can you turn your back on Jesus? These are legitimate questions to think about, to ask ourselves.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Jesus' sheep hear His voice…they follow Him.
So the question is, do we follow Jesus, and what does it mean to follow Jesus? Sheep do follow the voice of their shepherd. A shepherd guides the sheep from their pen and out into the fields. Does the shepherd leave them out in the fields on their own after leading them there? No. The shepherd stays with the sheep and watches them. The shepherd herds the sheep- keeping them going in the direction he wants them to go. When a sheep goes astray the shepherd finds that sheep and brings it back to the fold. When danger threatens the sheep the shepherd protects the sheep. Jesus is our shepherd, we are the sheep who need the shepherd. As a sheep we are to always listen to our shepherd. As sheep we are to go where our shepherd leads us. As sheep when we need protecting we must trust that our shepherd will do that for us.
We belong to our Shepherd, just as sheep in reality belong to their shepherd. You may fuss and say the shepherd may only be a hired hand, but that's not always true. And, even if the shepherd is a hired hand, that shepherd cares for each and every one of those sheep. You may continue to fuss and say not all shepherds are good ones. You're right, they aren't, but our Shepherd Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Joh_10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd- are we good sheep?
More tomorrow by the Grace of God! All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!! All in His amazing LOVE. We are so blessed! Thank you, LORD!
No comments:
Post a Comment