| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 15 |
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Not only are we to follow Christ, but we are to follow Him only. “A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” This is always true of sheep. A stranger’s voice frightens them, and even when he calls them by their right names, in imitation of their shepherd’s voice, they will yet flee from him rather than come to him. They know His voice to be strange and will not answer His calls. It ought to be so with Christ’s sheep, too. They should know when the voice they hear is not really their Shepherd’s, and should not give heed to it. Voices of strangers continually fall upon the ears of young Christians, especially of inexperienced Christians. There are many temptations which would lure them away from the fold into paths of wandering, ending in ruin. There are false teachings which seek to dishonor Christ and make His believing ones love Him less and trust Him less confidently. There are solicitations of pleasure which lack the note of purity and truth — voices of the stranger. There are invitations to things that appear to offer gain, to promise reward, but which, in reality, have only loss and hurt and ruin to give. Everywhere the voices of strangers are heard, and, unfortunately, too many are willing to listen to these voices. Those who do are lured away, often into peril and destruction. We need to be sure that the voices we hear are of the Shepherd, calling us only and always to things that are beautiful and true and good.
Not only is Jesus the Good Shepherd, but He is also the Door. “I am the door of the sheep.” A door is a way of entrance — those who come though Christ are admitted into the blessedness of God. As many as receive Him become children of God (see 1:12). This is a Door that is always open. We need never fear coming to it and fining it shut. In the representation of heaven as a city, in Revelation, there are twelve gates, three on each of the four sides. No matter from which way we approach, we shall always find a door of entrance.
When we enter the fold through Christ as the Door, we find provision with Him. “By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” The shepherd looks well to the feeding of his flock. He leads the sheep into green pastures. He searches everywhere to find food for them. When one spot is burnt up with the summer heat and has no more provision for his flock, the shepherd takes them elsewhere. So does Christ. Wherever He leads us, we may always be sure that He is taking us to some good, some provision, some blessing. The Bible is Christ’s pastureland, and the pasture there is always good. Wherever we open it we find something to feed our hunger. Other books may have poisonous teachings, but every word in the Bible is wholesome food for our lives. The fields of providence are also Christ’s fields. In all the common ways of life we find food waiting for us. We may trust Christ absolutely, because we know that wherever He leads us, He is always taking care of us in the right way. When the shepherd led his flock through the dark valley, it was not to terrify them, but to get them to a place where they would find pasture. Sometimes Christ leads His people through dark ways, struggle, trial, loss, but it is always because these are the ways to some good which He has in waiting for them.
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