RESPONDING TO JESUS’ VOICE

 

John 10:3-4

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

                 The other night I was watching a TV show called “Death in Paradise.” In one scene, one of the police officers called to a young boy who was selling sunglasses on the street and immediately the boy ran away. In another scene, that same police officer called to his partner in a crowd and they moved toward their colleague. The question is, why did the two people respond differently. In the case of the young boy, he assumed, incorrectly, that he was in trouble, so he ran. In the case of the colleague, they knew the other officer and responded positively.  

                In a similar way, this is how people respond to God. Many people see God in the same way that young boy saw the police officer. When God calls to them, they run away because they assume they are in trouble. The young boy was selling knock-off sunglasses. Knowing that that was wrong, he ran away. The Gospel of John tells us that that is how many people respond to God. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20) We have all found ourselves in that position. When we have done something wrong, we do everything in our power to keep from getting exposed. We will avoid contact with others and hide our actions. We try to do the same with God.

                On the other hand, when a person has developed a personal relationship with God, they respond to His call in a positive way. As John says, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:21) Having a relationship with God through Jesus changes the way we respond. Even though we may have done something wrong, we still have the confidence to approach God. Our relationship, which is based on God’s unfathomable love, negates fear. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18) We know that God is willing to forgive us and restore us if we will come to Him. If we try to hide from Him, we will continue to carry our guilt and shame. We will live in the darkness of unforgiven sin.

                In John 10, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd. He talks about the relationship that He has with His sheep. He knows His sheep by name and they know His voice. Those who have a personal relationship with Jesus respond to His voice. They know that the shepherd wants what is best for them. They trust Him to lead them into safe pastures, to provide for them what they need, to protect them from harm. But the person who does not have a relationship with Jesus responds to His voice in fear. For them, Jesus is a stranger and so they run away.

                In the scenes from “Death is Paradise”, the young boy responded in fear because the police officer was a stranger to him. The other officer responded positively because the officer who called to him was a friend. How do you respond when Jesus calls your name?

John 1:10-12

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--