Do I WANT to listen and follow?

Reflecting on John 10:22-30

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27).

Jesus taught and modeled the way of humility, grace and compassion.
In this He was representing the character of God; He was one with the Father.
This is the way of the kingdom, how God-like humans reign in this world.
This is what makes Jesus the Messiah, the promised Satan-crushing seed of Adam.
He rejected Satan’s self-serving lies, and lived with God-like love.

While many people claim Jesus as their Shepherd, not all listen or follow.
It is not just those who say ‘Lord, Lord’ that are Jesus’s sheep.
It is those who desire and strive to follow His way, to live like Him.
It is not the perfection of their works that identifies them, but their desire.
Those who long to be humble, gracious and compassionate are following Jesus.

Jesus suffered and died for living God’s Way; He did this for us!
Living like Jesus, like God, will make life harder for us too.
Satan and those who prefer his ways will work against Jesus’s sheep.
Though we stumble, struggle, falter and fail, we can be sure of this:
Those who want to listen and follow are secure in God’s and Jesus’s hands.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, following Your Way of humility, grace and compassion is hard. The world, the flesh and the devil all work against me. Nevertheless, NOTHING can separate me from Your love, and NO ONE can snatch me from Your hands! I want to listen, I want to follow!