Listening to the right voice

‘The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice.’ (verses 2-5)

Read John 10:1-10

Jesus is not a silent leader; he speaks to his followers. Through the written word of God we hear the voice of the one who is the Word. And we recognise this voice as the voice of authority. Jesus is who he says he is: the way, the truth, and the life. We know that as we follow his voice and his leading we will be led back to the Father and to our heavenly home.

Other voices clamour for our attention. ‘Follow me’, say the many facets of the New Age movement. ‘Follow this lifestyle’, say the TV advertisements. ‘Follow me’, say a whole range of other religions, both old and new.

Thank God for the gift to us of his Spirit, who attunes our ears to the voice of Jesus, and then gives us faith to stay close to him as our true leader.

Holy Spirit, keep me listening to Jesus so that I can follow him through life and into my heavenly home. Amen.

by Grace Simpson, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)

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