Good morning…
In college, I was a horrible french student. I had struggled through a few junior high french classes earlier in my life, but when I attended a small liberal arts college, I was forced to complete a foreign language requirement. I had no real interest in french and figured I would never really use the skill in my every day life, so I just skimmed across the surface of the language to get a passing grade.
After my post yesterday, “A fresh word each day,” a faithful friend shared these words in an email: “Thank you for your discipline to listen and for your encouragement to us to do the same. It doesn’t just ‘happen.’ We are in a growing relationship, and we are all learning a new language so we recognize Him all the more.”
Immediately, my mind was filled with a sentence Jesus spoke: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” John 10:27 (NIV). The Amplified Bible version translates and extends Jesus’ words like this: “The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand,” John 10-27-28 (AMP). I am drawn deeper into God’s Word to uncover wisdom Jesus spoke earlier in the chapter. “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]– even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep. I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become one flock with one Shepherd,” John 10:14-16 (AMP).
Weaving these verses together, what do we discover about learning the new language spoken by Jesus Christ?
1) Without a doubt, Jesus knows us and we are designed to know him.
2) When we learn the tone and texture of Jesus’ voice, we can hear, listen, and follow his guidance for our everyday lives.
3) As we develop a deep, personal relationship with Jesus, we are given a new life that is eternal, a vibrant life that starts now and never, ever perishes.
4) We are cupped and carried in the loving hands of God the Father and Jesus the Son, never to be snatched away. We grow to know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as intimately as they have known one another since the beginning of creation.
5) There are sheep not yet in the fold who Jesus will also bring into close, personal relationship. They too will listen to Jesus’ voice, will pay attention to his call upon their lives, and will become part of the one forever flock, nurtured by our one Good Shepherd.
My friend is right. Learning the new language of the Trinity does not just “happen.” In our growing personal relationship with Jesus, we are learning every day to hear, to listen, and to follow our Good Shepherd’s voice more and more, deeper and deeper, forever and ever.
Today, hear.
Listen and follow,
Sue
