Good
Morning All,
John 10:3; “To him the
gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out.”
I remember when we used to go help the
neighbors when it was time to sort cattle or vaccinate them. The man who owned the herd could always walk
up to just about any cow and she wouldn’t even flinch or look at him a second
time. Yet let one of the “newcomers”
walk in and they would get restless and wary of your presence.
It is kind of amazing how
that works in animals. I have a good
neighbor friend who has a fair number of cows.
They are nervous around everyone else but not with him. He can walk through the middle of the herd
and the cows will barely move. A
preacher friend asked him why this was.
He told the preacher,” I guess it is because I smell like them.” We have a Savior who knows what we smell like.
We have a Savior who knows us inside and
out; who knows our weaknesses and our failings.
Yet, like the gentle shepherd that he is, he calmly calls to us; he
calls us by name. He calls us out of our
wretched sinfulness and our hopeless condition.
He calls us by name into his loving kingdom. He calls us by his Word and it is this Word
by which we know him. He speaks to us
through his Word which is living and active.
He speaks to us through his holy meal of his body and the blood. God speaks to us through Jesus the one who
knows you the one who calls you by name.
It doesn’t matter how beaten down we
are. It doesn’t matter if the world
looks at you as worthless or not worth the effort; God does. God sees you as his own precious child and desires
for you to return to his family to return to his flock. So he calls you; he calls you by name. By faith, we hear that voice and we know it;
we know the voice of our dear Savior.
When we hear that voice, it is the voice
of comfort it is the voice of peace it is the voice of hope. God speaks to us with the gentle love of the
Father in heaven. He speaks to us when
times are good and he speaks to us when times are bad. He speaks to us with words of joy and
jubilation. He speaks to us with comfort
and consolation. He speaks to us to give
us strength and to give us hope.
So listen, listen closely. Listen by reading his written word. Listen by hearing his spoken word. Listen by eating and drinking his sacramental
word. Listen, knowing that in whatever
form we find it; it gives us the words of forgiveness of sins; it gives to us
the words of salvation.
Precious Savior, you call us by name and give to us our
security. You give us your words of
comfort. Keep us safely in your arms and
protect us from all danger. Be with
those who are suffering and nudge those who do not hear their name as you
call. In your most holy and precious
name we pray, amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.