Joy
What Jesus says here should be the source of much joy in our lives.
Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?" Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." - John 10:19-30
No one will snatch them out of my hand.
Jesus not only says that he and the Father are one, but that those who have chosen to follow him are never lost again.
We are all safe in his hands.
What makes us so special that God would become one of us to save us from evil?
It is not us. It is God's love for us that does this.
What we can learn from this is how we treat one another. It is not what the other person does or is that matters, but what is in us.
We have to have the love in us to want to help anyone in need.
Like God, we can be loving and kind. We can hold onto those who are lost and make them safe.
I was talking to a woman yesterday who takes care of children. She is a foster parent to them. Babies born in prison or refugees in need of someone to care for them until the parent can take them back.
This is love like God's love.
This is what brings joy into the hearts and on the faces of the children.
This is why we are here.
More to come...