One flock, One Shepherd

I picked up two principals this week at Bible Study that I want to share with you. Both are from John chapter 10.

John 10

The Shepherd and His Flock

¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

¹⁴"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

It is so comforting to know that Jesus is my shepherd and that He goes ahead of me. Not only to show me the way, but also to take care of things before I get there. He is brave and protective. As we walk through this adoption (and every other unpredictable part of life) He is there, forging ahead of us, making a way, blazing the trail, preparing a place for us. Thank you Jesus.

And then also this idea of ONE flock and ONE shepherd. The one true living God is a God of unity. He is ONE shepherd watching over ONE flock. He doesn't see us through the divisions of denominations, race, economics, language, or any other barrier. The only division HE sees is in our response to His son Jesus. Have we accepted Him and bowed our knee, or have we rejected Him. This is meaningful to me now as I know that others may look at our "new" family and see division between "biological" and "adopted", between black and white, but my God just sees our family, perfectly designed by Him.