Apparently it’s true-to-life. Jesus, speaking as he was to people who knew all about agriculture and animal husbandry, was describing the natural tendencies of sheep, in order to describe the supernatural tendencies of His followers. And so, apparently, sheep do know their shepherd’s voice, whom they will follow (as much as wayward sheep are prone to follow anybody!), and they will shy away from any other voice. I’ve seen this in person, when my wife and I traveled throughout Ireland during the spring lambing season: we called out to the sheep, but they weren’t coming. In some cases, as Jesus indicates, they ran from us. And therefore, you and I, as natural-born followers of Jesus, need to learn to recognize that Particular Voice, the Supernatural Voice of the One who has created us, called us together as His sheep, and Who loves us enough to give up His Life for us. No hired hand is He. Unlike others who may have deserted us in our hour of need, He remained faithful, and has taken on the wolves of hell for our sake. He is worth listening to, in prayer, in Scripture, in godly conversation with others. For as much as we come to recognize that Voice will be as much as we are able to move through life without getting chewed up by life’s predators, and can be ready to serve in the particular fields to which He will call us.
And among the places of service is to make room for those “other sheep” (John 10:160. As nice as it is to know that the Shepherd has us squarely in view, and that we are a flock that can enjoy each other’s company and care, we need to allow Him to call “other sheep”, who are not yet part of our fold. His is an expansive vision for His sheep, His fold. We must be prepared to welcome them when He brings them, to show them the Good Shepherd’s ways (as they may have learned ways of dealing with bad shepherds or hired hands that they have followed in the past), and to train them to hear His Voice, and His alone. And, on occasion, He will send us out, usually two by two, to go into those places where He is actively calling out new sheep, so that we can share His joy in seeing His flock increase.
For once you and I were part of that “other sheep” and, by the grace of God, we were invited, welcomed, trained, and, I pray, sent to repeat the cycle.
