“The thief does not come
except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may
have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John
10:10-11)
As this was written, I was looking out a
somewhat large
window from a bed in a cardiac unit on the fifth floor of a hospital in Los
Angeles. There’s a cross on a large building within view and the tall
palm trees nearby are swaying in the Santa Ana winds. The air is
somewhat clear because of the winds, allowing hills to be seen in the
distance. The orange smog is present in the air, but it is reduced to an
almost acceptable level.
The day before, surgeons had entered my body at
a point on the inside of my upper right leg and worked a tube up into my
heart. I had always thought of arteries as stable devices, sort of like
garden hoses, but my arteries depicted on the television screen jumped around
like they were electrified, and I guess to some extent they were. The
doctors told me that such activity was normal.
Surprisingly they found that a major artery
connecting to my heart was 80% blocked. When they asked me if I would
like to have an “angioplasty” procedure to clear it out, I replied
“sure,” and they did it. It was interesting that I could feel them in my
heart, though there was no pain. They then said that the artery would
soon close up again and recommended that a metal “stent” be placed into
the artery which had just been cleaned out, and I replied “sure” once
again.
The next morning, which was “today” as this was
scribbled on a piece of hospital paper, my whole life was changed.
Recently, I had become tired all the time and decided that my life was
being shortened. I could think, walk around, write sermons and more, but
it was like I was partly asleep, with reduced drive and less ambition.
But now I am fully awake, after a lot of prayer from many good people
and I have a sense of renewed life. And at the moment of these words, I
felt like God was speaking to my heart saying, “I have given you new
life,” a more abundant life.
And that’s what we need, isn’t it? In our
Scripture for today, Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience who mostly
“did not understand the things which He spoke to
them” (John 10:6). Some of them had begun to understand, for “there was a division” among them about His words. Many
of them claimed “He has a demon and is mad,”
whereas “others said, ‘These are not the words of
one who has a demon,” and they asked, “Can
a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” (John 10:19-21). Actually,
all human history has been divided on this point. Some resent the Lord
and reject Him, whereas others look to Him, trust in Him, and the latter
group will be forever healed by Him and know the joy of the Lord.
There are many religious systems that have
filled this world since the beginning. To be “religious” can be good,
but it is not enough and the world is reluctant to come to
the Lord through simple faith. Most would rather save themselves than trust
in Him. Thought systems that depend on our works are like thieves
that attempt to “steal” us away from the
God who made us. As Jesus said in our Scripture for today, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy.” Instead we look to Jesus Christ in simple faith,
for He has “come that (we) may have life, and that (we) may
have it more abundantly.” And of course, the evidence we need to decide whether we will follow Him or instead trust in some mere
human system, is found in the cross. He is in reality “the good shepherd.” As He said, “the
good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11).
Jesus gave His life for you and me.
He gave His life; EVERYTHING for you.
Do you remember the feeling as a younger person, a teenager, when you
woke up and felt utterly REFRESHED? You were ALIVE and ready for the
day! Do you feel that way anymore? I didn’t. Typically, after a good
night’s sleep, I arose sort of three-quarters awake and stayed that way
all day, until it was time to sleep again. But when the doctors went
into my heart and cleared an artery that was 80% blocked, the next
morning I woke up feeling more alive than I had in years! Life was
better, life is good once more.
When you REALLY give your heart to Jesus Christ,
He literally ENTERS your heart, bringing abundant new life. The change
may be instantaneous, but it also will initiate a process that occurs
over your lifetime. It may also involve
additional “surgeries” that can include some discomfort for a time, but
it will ultimately reap great rewards, both now and in eternity. He
IS the Great Surgeon, the Great Physician; He has HEALTH in store for you.
The imagery in today’s Scripture is a sheepfold,
a place of safety for the sheep. Any external safety in this world is
imperfect at best and we should reasonably be on guard against danger,
for ourselves and for our loved ones. As Jesus, our “Good Shepherd” warned us in another place, we are to be
“wise as serpents and (yet)
harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). For
literal sheep in Jesus’ time on this earth, the dangers would include
animal predators who viewed the relatively defenseless sheep as an easy,
satisfying dinner. Dangers also included the human “thief” who would steal a sheep and take it from its
rightful owner.
Our rightful owner is God Himself. We belong to
Him through creation, for He has carefully fashioned our human bodies
and we are His. In Psalm 139:14, David the writer spoke of himself, but
it also applies to you and me: He said, we are “fearfully
and wonderfully made.” And though all of us have “gone astray” in thought or in actions, you and I were “bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), through the
precious blood of our Great Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus, who in His death
bought us back from the ruin of sin. 1 Corinthians 6:20 continues with the
statement, “therefore glorify God in your body and
in your spirit, which are God’s."
When I was on the table and the surgeon was
entering my heart, I had literally given myself to him. I believed he is a trained
professional and I trusted in him that he would give me new, better,
more abundant life; and that death would not come from the surgery. And
yet, in a sense, I died on that table to my old existence, which was
limited at best, to become fully alive in a better way. And that’s true
of our new life in Christ Jesus. We are to trust Him that He knows what
He is doing. And even better than that doctor in the hospital who was
merely doing the work of a surgeon on a stranger like me; our Great
Surgeon is operating on us and changing us with His great love. He
utterly knows you, loves you without limit, and has a wonderful new life
in store.
We are to boldly allow ourselves to be placed on
that sacrificial table, giving up our old lives in favor of a better
one. Yes we do give ourselves up to Him, and yes we do “die” to this world, but there are incredibly great
benefits. There is an old Asian saying: “He who is
drowned is not troubled by the rain.” His death gives you new life.
When you take the risk and allow the Great Surgeon to come into your
heart, you will be alive in ways you never thought possible. There
is a Christian song that includes the words, “And
the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory
and grace.” Let Him into your heart – you’ll be glad you did –
forever!
Lord, I want the “life”
You offer, the abundant life I have needed all these years. Come into my
heart and heal me from all that is wrong. Thank You. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
