It's Me Again God

73. Unity & Peace

It's me again God,

These moments with You continue to become more exciting each day! I look forward to our chat and find the time in Your Word so revealing! Thank You again for Your presence with me and the expectant joy that fills my heart as I wait for You to speak!

Following on from yesterday's images of You as the Shepherd, the passage in John 10 continues:

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
‭‭John‬ ‭10:11-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lord, when I think about all You have done for me, I am in awe! You are more than good! You never abandon us - You laid down Your life for us all on the Cross at Calvary. You showed us Your deep, deep love and these images You described of the hired man running away at the first sign of danger, are a stark contrast to Your amazing commitment to be with us and always protect us from the Enemy. You died and rose again, defeating Satan and bringing us all the victory over his schemes! We thank You and praise You for all You have done and for loving us so much!

I love how You describe the closeness of our relationship, 'I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father'. How special that You would compare the intimacy You have with us, to that most precious relationship You have with the Father! You know the secret details of my inner being that no one else sees. You know me better than those who are closest to me, and You still love me. There is such beauty in our relationship as day by day I get to know more about You. My deepest desire is to keep on knowing You better until that day when I leave this place to be with You forever!

While this is so special, You go on to talk about 'other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.' Here it seems You're referring to those who were not Jews - the Gentiles - that would include us! Your desire was so loving and fervent as You clearly stated, 'I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.'

Your purpose was very clear - You came for all mankind. All nations, all people groups. All people, no matter how much they had sinned, or how far away they were. Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Ephesians:

"He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:17-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is the one thing that should bring the world together in perfect unity! I pray that one day soon, all will know You and Your peace will descend upon us all! One flock and one Shepherd sounds so good. Lord, bring on the Day!

For Your glory,
Amen.