Good Shepherd Lutheran

My Shepherd, Indeed – John 10:11-18
Have you ever wondered whether following Jesus is worth it? I mean, maybe you’ve gone through something really tough. Something devastating. And then you’ve asked yourself, “If Jesus is the Lord and He loves me, then why is He allowing this to happen to me?”
When tragedy strikes, you might even have thought, “Life was better before I believed in Christ because it seems like I didn’t have all the problems I’ve had since I became a Christian.” Or maybe you just struggle with disappointment because your Christian experience isn’t what you thought it would be. It just doesn’t seem to live up to what other Christians seem to be experiencing.
So, you wonder, “Why should I follow Jesus?” The answer is simple. Since Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep, we’d be crazy not to follow Him. But if we do follow Him, where is it we really want to go? Where do we dream life will lead us? The obvious answer is that at the end of life here on earth, we want to end up living in heaven instead of the other alternative.
So, if we’re hoping for heaven, who should we imitate? Who should we follow? Who will lead us through life and eventually lead us to heaven? The answer is obvious. We need to follow Jesus.
He brings us into the fold of His flock, and there’s only one flock for all of us. He died and rose again to unite us; with God and with one another. He does this out of His love and obedience to the Father. But more importantly, He does it out of His love for us. And after having done all of that, He also secures our future by laying down His life to save us, so He’s not about to easily let us go.
As Paul puts it in Romans: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing can snatch us from Christ’s hand because we mean more to Him than anything else. He’s not about to abandon us. And neither is the Father.
How great to be a sheep of this shepherd! To be known, and to know Him intimately. To have Him provide for us. To have Him protect us. To have Him secure our future. To know that He holds us firmly in His hand, and that nothing can separate us from Him.
How amazing to be able to affirm with the Psalmist in Psalm 23 that “The Lord is my shepherd.”
He’s my shepherd, indeed.