The Good Shepherd
DAY 10 WRITTEN BY: TRE WIGGINS-
1 Peter 5:4
And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
John 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
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I’m hopelessly dependent on GPS. I haven’t always been. I used to be dependent on MapQuest (thank you, God, for technological advances). I used to print out directions and read them step by step to get to any place I wasn’t familiar with. In fact, even today, if I don’t travel somewhere consistently, I’ll never remember how to return to a place. I have to go there time and again to ensure that I’ll ever make it without some sort of help.
In a strange way, my GPS acts as a shepherd does to a sheep. The job of the shepherd is to lead the sheep to a place where it would not originally arrive on its own. Primarily, that place is a place of safety. That’s ultimately what we’re doing any time we travel somewhere, isn’t it? Our goal is to make it somewhere safely.
No place is more important for us to arrive safely to than the presence of God after we take our final breath. Like sheep, we’d never arrive there on our own. In Psalm 24, God tells us what is required to enter His presence. He requires clean hands and a pure heart. Neither of those things are intrinsic to us. In fact, they’re alien to us. Thankfully, righteousness is a gift (Psalm 24:5). Do you know who makes that gift possible for us? Our Good Shepherd. Through the cross and resurrection, Jesus has ensured that He will guide us safely all the way home. He has secured us, and we are forever in Him. He’s made sure of that before the foundation of the universe (Eph. 1).
Be comforted today that even if you get lost going to a place you’ve never been, you’ll never be spiritually or cosmically lost if you’re in Christ. He ensures that you’ll arrive safely to be fully and finally in the presence of God, just as He intends for you to.
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Father, thank you for the kindness You’ve shown me in not allowing me to remain lost. I was born lost. But I know I don’t have to remain there. You’ve given me a second chance in Christ. Thank you for this Good Shepherd that ensures that none of His sheep leave His fold (John 6:37)!
