The world offers you the experience of a lifetime. Jesus offers you life itself—abundant, overflowing, eternal. There's a difference.
Scripture Focus: John 10:1-5, 14
Jesus says something remarkable in John 10:3—the Good Shepherd "calls his own sheep by name." Not collectively. Not as a mass. By name.
Picture this: Multiple flocks gathered in one central fold for the night, protected by high walls, jagged rocks, thorns and briars functioning like barbed wire. One narrow entrance where the shepherd himself would lie down, essentially saying to thieves and predators: "You will not get to one of my sheep other than crossing my dead body."
In the morning, the shepherds would return. They wouldn't go into the fold and sift through trying to figure out which sheep were theirs. They would stand at a distance and have their own sing-song call. And the sheep—they would hear their shepherd's voice and come out. Not because they were forced. Because they knew him.
But here's what's precious—the shepherd didn't just call the flock collectively. He called each sheep individually. By name. The shepherd knew that sheep's insecurities, proclivities, propensities, phobias, idiosyncrasies. And to comfort and guide each sheep, the shepherd would call them by their individual name.
That's how God describes His relationship with His people.
You're not just a number in the flock. You're not just one of many. The Shepherd of your soul knows your name. He knows your fears, your weaknesses, your struggles, your tendencies. And He calls to you—personally, individually, intimately.
In Ezekiel 34, God rebukes the shepherds of Israel because they were more interested in fleeing the flock than feeding it. They served themselves instead of serving the sheep. They abandoned the lost instead of pursuing them. So God says: "I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out... I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will feed them."
Twenty-eight generations after David died, the greater son of David arrived. And He is the Shepherd who doesn't just know His sheep collectively—He knows them by name.
Do you know His voice? Not just intellectually, but intimately? One of the hallmarks that you're in Christ is that you don't listen to the voice of strangers. False teachers, worldly philosophies, empty promises—they sound foreign to you because you've learned to recognize your Shepherd's voice.
Your Shepherd says, "I have to give life and life abundantly (John 10:10)." Your soul is hungry for something the world can't give you. Mercedes promises "the best or nothing." BMW promises "the ultimate driving machine." Ralph Lauren says "live the life you dream." But the new car smell fades. Vacations end. Clothing wears out. The excitement diminishes.
Jesus, once again, cuts through all the hollow promises and says: "I have come to give life—and life abundantly." Not just duration of life after you die. Quality of life right here, right now. Overflowing, over-the-top, waterfall-crashing-upon-you life.
And He calls you by name.
1. Do you recognize the Shepherd's voice when He calls to you? How does He typically speak to you—through His Word, through circumstances, through His Spirit?
2. In what areas of your life are you listening to "stranger's voices"—false promises from the world, cultural narratives that contradict Scripture, lies about your identity?
3. How does it change your relationship with God to know that He doesn't just know you collectively but calls you individually by name?
Stay dialed in.