John: I AM...the Good Shepherd

I am the Good Shepherd.   
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.   
John 10:11

My friend Diane and I have been cleaning up the church attic that is situated just above the choir room.  It is a huge room filled with advent decorations, Christmas trees, wreaths, plastic palm plants for Palm Sunday, racks and tubs and boxes filled with assorted nativity costumes, and a whole gob of left-over Vacation Bible School decorations.

On the children's costume rack in the corner are about a dozen tiny sheep costumes that are absolutely adorable.  Fuzzy, pristine white costumes matched with white stretch headbands with black ears attached.  So cute.  Problem is, sheep don’t look like that.  At least, the ones in our live nativity certainly didn’t.  The color of their matted wool was somewhere between café latte, rolled dirt and burnt umber.  Maybe they were supposed to be fluffy clean and white, but their actual appearance didn’t even come close.

Jesus made the statement, “I am the Good Shepherd.”  He also indicated that we, His people, are the sheep.  When Adam and Eve were created and placed in the Garden, their lives were innocent, pure and white, just like the proverbial wooly sheep. Sin changed all that.  Now, as Isaiah so eloquently put it, our lives resemble “filthy rags” – just like the café latte lambs.  The beautiful message of this text is that Jesus laid down His life for His sheep, for you and I – “…making them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 

He offers you an invitation today:  “Come now, and let us reason together,” saith the Lord.  Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  [Isaiah 1:18 KJV]

Savior, like a Shepherd lead us,

Much we need Thy tender care.

In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,

For our use Thy folds prepare.

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,

Thou has bought us, Thine we are.