The Good Shepherd.2

"I am the good shepherd.

I know my flock and they know me, even as the Father knows me and I know the Father.

I am willing to give my life for the sake of the sheep.

My sheep recognize my voice.

I know them each by name, and they follow me. "

--Jesus

It's been said that in Europe a hundred miles is a long ways while in America a hundred years is a long time! And for most humans thirteen billion light years is an incomprehensibly long time and long way!

With a tip of the hat to young earth creationists for their sincerity and passion, more and more researchers in the geometric sciences agree that thirteen billion light years is, more or less, the breadth and age of the universe.

This same Jesus, the architect of Creation, produced the just right conditions in a vast universe for His crowning achievement: Beings fashioned in the Image of God! He chose to visit this planet and redeem people from their waywardness and self destruction and lead them to His crowning endeavor: Beings fashioned into the Nature of God.

I imagine the time He and the Father spent (who knows, perhaps many millennia) contemplating the things that must be said to humans to help them understand the Purposes of the Perfect Will.

When He came here, He described Himself and His work among humans in terms the simplest would be able to connect with from head to heart.

Good Shepherd
In preparation for this visit, the Creator made sure to fashion a "sentient" (what Hugh Ross would call "soulish") animal -sheep- that would point people to the tenderness of a loving caregiver. By observing a human shepherd's interaction with his flock we can understand Jesus' words describing His relationship with us!

Knowing the Flock
The Creator instilled in these soulish    animals a sense of community and belonging; qualities that would help people understand the special relationship each one has to the Shepherd and other sheep.

Give My Life
The Nature of Love is sacrifice. Jesus showed us what the Father is always doing: giving himself eternally for the good of people. The motivating force in the universe is Love and is the end to which All Creation is moving. 

One of the deadly consequences of Self-Consciousness and Self-Will is Self-Loathing - a genuine disbelief that someone could love me for what I am.

By dying for the very creatures who rejected their Creator He demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt what true love is and the eternal value He ascribes to every individual on this planet!

Voice Recognition
"Alexa, play my music!" "Siri, find this location." Artificial Intelligence has changed the way we live our lives! But they are soulless servants designed to only do our bidding without anything resembling (except a soft sounding female voice) freely offered loyalty and affection. 

The Creator's most challenging act of creating was developing a Being like Him capable of communication,  communion, and choice. 

Perhaps more challenging was that these creatures would be able to distinguish His voice in the midst of a din of noise these creatures would be capable of producing! 

Hope resides in His heart as He waits for people to answer His alluring call to Life!

Follow The Leader
Like sheep, humans can get lost rather easily. We need guidance to get to the right destination...most often not even sure what the right destination is. But the destination we are created for is to be at the Heart of the Father, to know our purpose and meaning and to be merry children around His throne!

He Knows Us By Name
"Take a number." Whether at the DMV or a fast food restaurant, we resign ourselves to waiting for our number to be called. As fickle as humanity is - some want to be noticed, some want to blend - the wonder of friendship with Jesus is that he cares about all that happens in our lives. Every event is an opportunity that, as our eternal Shepherd, He coordinates with to shape and refine us into His nature. Our names reveal something about the purpose for which we were created!

They Follow Me
The Shepherd has a right to expect the sheep to submit to his guidance, protection and provision. In a word, He has authority to care for the sheep. And the sheep have a duty to pay attention and follow where He leads and what He does to help them prosper. You could call it a Win-Win proposition! As this flock grows He gets the ever expanding Love for which He fashioned the universe, we get the home for which we long!

Words Mean Things
In the end, it wasn't so much what He said but what He did that demonstrated the Father's Perfect Love. His actions give the Ultimate Meaning to the things He said. May we, like sheep, live just like Him!