Fourth Sunday of Easter
God’s Voice
The passage of John 10:22–30 begins with a conversation between Jesus and some Jews. It’s interesting that those men tried to pin him down on whether he was the Messiah, because most Jews heard Jesus’ claim about this relationship with God as blasphemy, declaring in John 10:33, “You, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” But Jesus once again spoke clearly when he told them, “The Father and I are one.”
Knowing his listeners would not accept this truth, he proceeded to draw a picture they could easily understand, since shepherds were quite familiar in their culture. “You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.”
Let’s consider connecting the Old Testament and New Testament on this subject: Psalm 23:1 . . . “The Lord is my shepherd” and John 10:11 . . . “I am the good shepherd.” Another way of telling us the Lord and Jesus are the same.
Could it be that our goal as Christians—indeed our biggest blessing in life—is to hear God’s voice and follow him? How do ‘we as human beings hear the voice of God? Through the words of the Bible for sure, or perhaps through other Christians that God places in our path. Maybe God’s voice could come within unexplainable life circumstances that change our direction, or in a moment when we have an opportunity to be a witness of God’s love to others.
So many ways, there are so many ways for God to speak to us. Even if it’s simply that we feel his words in our heart. However it happens, when we hear God’s voice, may we follow him.
Donna Hurt, Home Moravian Church
Winston-Salem, North Carolina