Noah, the Ark, and the Trailer

I spent last weekend in Atlanta (or possibly Atlantis). It rained the entire time I was there. We conducted a yard sale for my parents, and somehow by God's grace sold over seven hundred dollars worth of their worldly goods. I rented a Uhaul trailer larger than my car and drove home with a load of furniture and smaller items. Saturday my brother-in-law and it loaded furniture into my vehicle and his while the rains kept coming. I left about one thirty to head home. My minivan strained under the load, but somehow, I made good progress, at least until I hit my halfway point, Anderson, SC. Just before the Clemson exit, the bottom fell out of the sky. Noah never saw such rain. I set my wipers on maximum and trudged on with my load of furniture through the wet gray landscape. It was at that moment that the driver's side windshield wiper gave under he strain. The bolt holding it to the armature worked loose, and the wiper lay helpless on one side. I was suddenly blind. I pulled off he road, onto what I supposed to be the shoulder, and prayed about what to do. I remembered that somewhere ahead was a rest stop, so I resolved to make it there as best I could. Leaning sideways and peering out the passenger side, I drove at low speed towards the rest stop two miles ahead. Big semis and little sports cars whizzed by, splashing up even more water. The trailer blinded my rear view mirror. The water was now obscuring even the white lines on the road. I made it to the rest stop, and waited for he rain to slacken. When I thought it had, I got back on the road. No sooner had I pulled out than the skies opened again. I got off the road and drove along the shoulder towards the next exit. Soon, I was having to go around other motorists who were also stranded on the road. I pulled into the first exit, and went to the nearest gas station, begging for a wrench. They had none. There was not even a good place to park the trailer in the rain. Next door was a Hardees, so I parked behind it, and went inside to get dinner. God was good! So was the burger. The manager had a tool set and he went out with me to the car. Five minutes later, I was able to continue my trip. I thanked both him and God for leading me to that particular Hardees on that particular day. By the time I got to bed that night, I had been soaked four times. I was never so happy to see the lights of home as I was then. When something unexpected happens, it does little good to worry. All we can do is trust and think of it as an adventure.

The Next Challenge for my Father

This last week and next week, I'm traveling back and forth to Atlanta to help my parents get ready to move. They've sold the house they lived for thirty-six years, and are getting ready to move into an apartment at my sisters house--proving again that in the end, we are little different from crustaceans, discarding one home for another. The reason for the move is my father and mother's health, particularly my father's. He has suffered two strokes in the past year, and can only walk with a cane or a walker. the house is just too big for them to manage now, and they will need help from the family. It saddens me to see my father crippled. It is so unlike him. My father has always been (and will remain in my mind) a strong, stubborn, independent man, who needed no help and asked none. He has always been the rock of stability which held out family together. There is a story about my father I heard when I was young. I do not know if I remember it accurately, but it has always stuck in my mind as part of my picture of him. The story was that he entered a yo-yo contest as a child. While the other children were demonstrating what tricks they could pull, Dad just kept on yo-yoing, p and down, until he outlasted the others. It was so typical of my father--nothing fancy, but steady and dependable. Even though he weighed less than a hundred and fifty pounds, he played tackle on his high school football team. I don't know whether he was ever recognized as such, but I do not he played the game like he played every other game, with determination and ferocity. In World War II, Dad was injured before he could be sent into battle, which is why the war lasted as long as it did. He spend two years recuperating. The doctors wanted to take his legs, but he refused. He kept going and made a complete recovery. After the war he went to college at Georgia Tech--the first in his family to graduate. He went on to work in the mills as a textile engineer. Later, he worked in an insurance firm, and worked his way up to district sales manager, propelled by his sense of responsibility and by his desire to see his children prosper more than he did. He was often gone for days at a time visiting clients and providing a living. His climb caused us to move several times, but he was always thinking of the family. My sister and I went to college, and came out without owing a dime, because of his sacrifices. He retired early, and went to work for another company. He finished his work life years ago. Now he leaves a spotless life and a spotless reputation. I will never be the man my father is--even now, when he is on a cane and I can still walk strong, I can only aspire to his strength of will and determination. I can only thank him and God that I have benefitted from his protection and care. I hope that he will be around for years to come, and be happy in his new role as protected patriarch. He and mother deserve all the honor we can give them. I am sure that they will face this next challenge in life with the same commitment of spirit as they have all the others.

"I Am the Light of the World"

“I am the light of the world.” This statement is found in two places in the book of John – John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world . Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." And John 9:5, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John actually refers to Jesus s the “light of the world” many other times. For example John 1: 4 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” John 3:19 “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 12:35"You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.” John 12: 46 ‘I have come into the world as a light , so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” Of all the “I am’s” of John, this one seems the easiest to understand. Bu it is not quite as easy as it looks. Some scholars suggest that He said it during the Jewish festival known as the Feast of the Tabernacles. At this time, there was a big nighttime celebration in the temple. Two huge brass candelabras were lit on either side of the courtyard, illuminating the whole court. They suggest that Jesus had his eye on those two candelabras when he declared Himself the “Light of the World.” Others suggest Jesus was actually referring to something from the Book of Exodus. Every night in the wilderness a pillar of fire to lit the way. They believe this Jesus meant by the “Light of the World.” Still others suggest that Jesus was referring to the Greek philosopher Plato. Plato believed there were two Gods who made the world—a God of Light and a God of Darkness. The God of light made all good things, including ideas and emotions. The evil god made material things—houses, trees, rocks, mosquitoes, and alligators. Plato’s followers believed one day the God of Light would send an emissary—a being of pure light into the dark world to light the way. This could also be what he meant by the “light of the world.” You can take your pick between these views. Frankly, it makes no difference. We all know what it means-- --Or maybe we don’t. We take light for granted. We have electricity, and can see as well in the dark as we can in the light. All we have to is to flip a switch. One of the unforgettable sights I saw in Guinea-Bissau Africa was a late night trip through the countryside and villages where there was no electricity. I remember seeing lanterns with dozens, perhaps hundreds of people crowded around, their faces shining in the light. Like moths to a flame, people gathered to light in a light-deprived world. Wouldn’t it be great if people crowded around the light of God the same way people hunger for physical light? Today you practically have to beg people to come to a Bible study. If people only knew how precious light was, they might seek it differently. But they don’t. The light’s there, people just aren’t seeking it. John wrote about these people in 1 John 2:9-11 “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” John describes a person without the light of God. He’s hopeless. He walks around in darkness and doesn’t know where he’s going. He walks in darkness. He stumbles in the darkness. Gets lost and doesn’t know how to go home, because he is blind. In such a place like this, you would think people would be clambering for all the light they could get. They don’t. Most people don’t even care. There are two kinds of people who don’t care for light. First there are the blind. They are people who don’t even know what they are missing. The deaf and blind learn to enjoy life in the narrow spectrum of senses that they have. A deaf man can enjoy a painting, but he cannot enjoy a symphony. A blind person can enjoy a symphony, but they cannot enjoy a play. They do not see so they cannot know what they are missing. Go to any big party—Mardi Gras, Times Square New Year’s Eve, Myrtle Beach at Spring Break. Vegas—anywhere people gather. In the midst of that party, stand up and yell at them. “Come to the Light of Jesus!” and see what happens These folks do not look like they are suffering. They drink, laugh, flirt, carouse, but they aren’t suffering.. At best they would pity you. They think they are living the good life, not you. The people on the Titanic did not know they were in trouble with the ship hit the iceburg. Witness say they heard only a little bump. People in New Orleans breathed a sigh of relief on the morning after Katrina, when it looked like they had escaped the worst of it, That is, until the water started pouring in. The people of Noah’s day had a wonderful time before it started to rain. The reason they had a great time was because they did not know the truth. They did not see the doom before them. But are they really having that good of a time? They think they are, but what do they know to compare it to? Consider how what it takes for to have a good time. The only way they can is to get drunk, spend a lot of money, or sleep around. The toll for what they perceive to be fun is way too high. It can cost their lives. At the end, they get nothing but a brief high. They are like crack cocaine users who throw their lives away for a high that lasts only ten minutes. For that people are willing to risk their futures? How can they throw away their lives for such a small rush? I have met whole families of alcoholics. Every family reunion, ever occasion had to have alcohol. They knew the toll drinking takes on their family, but they don’t seem to care. In their alcoholic haze, they do not know that you could have a good time without drinking. Those are the ones who John says live in darkness, walk around in darkness, and do not know how to go home, because the darkness has blinded their eyes. But Jesus says “I am the light of the world.” “I.” He is himself the key to a better, more satisfying life. He is the light that shows them how to get there. Jesus gives us the way to another life of harmony with God and others. There is long lasting, permanent happiness. We don’t have to run from anything. It has been there for us all along. But the blind are not the only ones who do not crave the light. There are others who suffer from too much of it. They have Jesus as their light, but they also have a dozen other. They cannot be led, because they are so distracted. Or else they have spent their entire life procrastinating. They have seen the light so long that it has lost its meaning and appeal. My doctor tells me that there are two types of diabetes. One type—Type I is a genetic condition where the body does not produce enough insulin to cope with sugar. Blood sugar build up and causes all kinds of strange conditions. Only a few people have thi condition. But Type II diabetes is much more common. In this condition people produce lots of insulin. However, they eat a lot of sugar. After a while, the body cannot keep up with insulin production so it gives up trying. The insulin no longer works. Even with an abundance of insulin, they die of a disease. The Gospel is like insulin. We have a lot of the grace of God, but we also need a lot. We need a lot because we are of the mistaken opinion that our sin won’t hurt us. So as the sin mounts, we keep applying the Gospel. Sooner or later, the light of God no longer moves us. Then we find ourselves in trouble Ray Stedman, in a sermon on this passage, wrote of a trip he took to the Grand Canyon with some friends. When it got dark, they stoppes b the sid of the road to sleep. They spread out their sleeping bags at a quiet spot and slept the night. The next morning, he woke up, reached out hand into thin air. They had stopped for the evening inches from a cliff. If they had gone in the darkeness even a few inches more, they would have fallen. How many Christians are like that. We have come to take the light for granted. We have assumed that because we were believers, that was all we needed to do to find Jesus. But Jesus says "I am the light of the world . Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The light I more than a convenience. It is life to us. Following Jesus is not an option. It is the only option. The ones who have been rased in the light have forgotten why they need it. The light is not God’s rules. It is not even God’s principles. The light if following Jeuss. It is walking ever day in His presence and guidance Quit taking God for granted. Maybe you followed Him in the past. That doesn’t count. Walking with the Light is walking with Him now. Today. Don’t risk stumbling. Build a relationship with Jesus today

"I am The Resurrection and the Life"

A man named Lazarus was sick. His sisters sent word to Jesus,"Lord, the one you love is sick." Lazarus'family had many problems He and his sisters, Mary and Martha, in Bethany on the far side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. “Bethany” means “house of the sick”It was a place where many sick and diseased people lived. Bethany was close to Jerusalem, but still out of sight of the temple. We all know people like Lazarus’ family. Trouble follows them like a cloud. Through no fault of their own, they live through disaster after disaster. Even so, Lazarus' illness was a big problem. It was tough for two women to make it on their own. There was nothing Martha and Mary could think to do but to call on their friend Jesus. Jesus was on the other side of the Jordan River. If he drew close to Jerusalem towards Judea, he might be killed.When he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. How this must have puzzled those around him! If he were going to go help, then why wait two days? He might not live two days! Do you ever try to hurry God? I confess that I have. If things do not work out immediately, then I start to lose faith. But God is never in a hurry. He comes when it is time. Miracles are not hard for God—far from it! It is as easy for God to do a miracle as it is for us to eat or breathe. If But a miracle can have unintended consequences. God uses miracles to maximum effect.So He saves them for just the right time. In John 9, when Jesus healed a blind man, He said he was blind so God’s power will be revealed. Now, he says Lazarus is sick so God’s His glory will be revealed. We can have power without patience, but we cannot see glory until the time is right. He waits so we can wonder. On his arrival, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Many had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in their loss. When Martha heard Jesus was coming, she ran to meet him. "Lord," she said, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Martha was a woman of great faith, but resurrection was beyond her belief. She did not yet understand how far He can go to rescue one of his own. When we first become believers, there are times it seems like every prayer we pray is answered. We ask and receive. God seems generous and kind as long as we get what we want. But the moment we do not get it, we would pout and complain, like the children we are. Then God exercises our faith by withholding the answer for a time in order for us to experience anxiety and doubt. Then, he gives us abundantly, though not in the way we expect. In that way, we come to experience not only his power, but is Glory as well. God is bigger than we imagine. He takes away, so he can give. He dashes our hopes so He can resurrect them. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." He could have said “I can resurrect.” Instead, he said. “I am the resurrection.” There is a huge difference between these two. One is a statement of power, the other a statement of being Jesus did not just come to resurrect, but to be the resurrection. This is the difference between a one night stand and a lifelong marriage. Or being a one night houseguest and being given a permanent place in the family. He did not come just ot resurrect us once, but to resurrect us over and over. Whenever we are dead in the depths of our sins, He is our resurrection. Jesus spoke another woman by a well in Samaria. He said, “Give me a drink.” She said. “You’re a Jew. I’m a Samaritan. How dare you ask me for a drink!” Jesus replied, “If you knew who I was, you would ask me for living water, and you would never thirst again.” She thought He meant a spring. But He himself was the spring. He was source of never-ending water, just as He is the source of never-ending life.. My wife and I have been through some tough times. There have been days when we did not know how to pay the bills, or how we were going to make it. But we have seen God provide. When we go through hard times, it is good to be relieved from them, but it is even better to have the assurance that whatever happens to us is still under God’s control. And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.People grieve different ways. Some get busy, others can do nothing but sit Mary just sat in her room. Her grief overwhelmed her until Jesus came. Then she forsook her grief and ran to Him. The people around her never guessed this. When she suddenly burst out the door, they assumed she was running to the tomb, when she was actually running to the resurrection. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" They bystanders who watched were impressed by two things. First, by His love. He wept over His friend’s pain. Second, by the irony of it. He healed so many people, but He could not heal his friend. I relate better to those bystanders than I do Mary and Martha. I would be asking what kept Him. We never fully believe until we see. I would never have believed what happened next. Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." And the dead came out, shuffling, stumbling, smelling, but alive. Death ws swallowed up in victory. The grave had lost its sting. What happened to Lazarus after he was resurrected? In John 12:10, we read that the Jewish leaders intended to kill Lazarus. Tradition says they succeeded If that is the case, then what was the point? We know that the mourning of his family was repeated. So why resurrect a man from death, only to have him die again? There is one difference between Lazarus’ first and second death. In between Jesus had died and was resurrected. Mary and Martha witnessed it. For the second time in two weeks, they saw a dead man live. Don’t you think this changed the way they looked at death? When we are sick we ask for healing. Whe we are dying, we ask for resurrection. But what is te point of asking for resurrection to the same life. Jesus is the life. If we are saved for this life, we will still face death tomorrow. But if we know the one who is the resurrection, then we know that we will face resurrection tomorrow. Lazarus lives, though not on this earth. He lives in heaven, with the Lord of the resurrection. We live on this earth, but not forever. Death has no victory over us, because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

"I am the Good Shepherd"

John, chapter 9 concerns a man who was born blind. Jesus saw him and the disciples asked the question. “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that this man was born blind?” Right there we know that the disciples had been raised on lousy preaching. This way of thinking is false—patently false. It assumes a linkage between sin and catastrophe. If you escaped catastrophe, you are a good person. If you are struck with blindness or if your cow runs dry, God must have cursed you. If this were true, good people would never die. All three thousand people killed in the World Trade Center were worse than the people who worked in the Empire State Building. Helen Keller and Ray Charles were terrible sinners, but Hugh Hefner isn’t. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this doesn’t work. But the disciples believed it. It was not their fault. They had heard it preached that way. Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. “ With that, he spit on the ground, made a paste, and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. Then he told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam, and he would see. When he came back, Jesus had already left. Instead, a delegation of the local ministers came to visit. They told him to give God the glory and denounce Jesus. He refused. They said he was a sinner and a charlatan. The man responded that he didn’t know about that, but he knew this--once he was blind but now he saw. Not only was it a statement of faith, but it was one of the best put-downs in the New Testament. Later the man caught up with Jesus, and professed his faith. This gave Jesus a teaching opportunity. He saw a very common sight. There was a shepherd herding sheep into a pen. The pen had no door. Once the sheep were inside, the shepherd laid down on the ground across the entrance. He became the door. As long as the sheep were in that pen, he guarded them. Some men bothered the sheep, but they weren’t shepherds. They were thieves and robbers who came over the wall. They didn’t guard them. They only fleeced them. So Jesus said. In verses 1-2 "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. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. People have the wrong idea about preachers. They think preachers save people. Whenever someone want a relative to get saved, they drag him to see the preacher, or sic the preacher on them. But Jesus didn’t come to save people through preachers. He came to save them from preachers. Preachers were his main problem. It was the dummies like these who taught that someone was a sinner if they had a gimpy leg. I’d like to say we do better today, but we don’t. A lot of preachers believe less than their congregations. They need their congregations to save them. They let their own ideas and egos take the place of a careful, humble attention to the Word of God. God didn’t send these men. But the leader God calls is the one that come in through the gate, and stays at the gate. He is there to be a shepherd—twenty-four hours a day. The man at the gate was a symbol of Jesus‘ leadership—a twenty-four hour commitment. How did they know who to trust? Why should they trust Jesus? After all, he was a preacher, too. Using the analogy of the shepherd, Jesus gave several things to look for in a leader. Verse 3--The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. Clearly, it is not possible for the shepherd to be with his sheep all the time. When he was gone a watchman would watch the sheep until he returned. The watchman knows who appointed him, so when he returns, he relinquishes the job to the shepherd. God appointed watchmen over Israel—Moses, the prophets, John the Baptist. They spoke of Jesus. When Jesus returned, those who had always known him, willingly relinquished control. John the Baptist, the last of the watchmen, recognized Jesus when he came. 3-5He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4-5 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. The shepherd and the sheep have a special relationship. He knew each one. When the shepherd calls, they come, because they know him. If an impostor tried to rustle them, they would run away. Jesus knew the one who were in his flock. He called them out to follow Him. They follow, because they have been called. Jesus leads from the front, not the back. He never asks his flock to do anything that He himself is not doing. The sheep recognize his voice, because he has taken the time to build a relationship with them. Jesus does not want us just following because He says so. He wants us to follow because He loves us, and we have come to know that. Christians are forever trying to be leaders. We want the world to follow us to Jesus. Why should they, unless we have built a relationship with them first/ Then, just in case they missed the point, he makes it even clearer. 7-10Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. When Jesus talks about the pastors who have come before him, he is not talking about everyone—only the pastors of his day. He was talking of the conflicting voices who called the sheep of first century Israel to follow. There were the legalists--the Pharisees, who taught that the way to God was in impossibly strict obedience. . There were the traditionalists—the Sadducees who taught that as long as you attended church and followed the rituals, you were saved. There were zealots--the wild, charismatic false Messiah’s who tried to lead them into battle against the Romans. They sounded as though they wanted to change the world, but all the really wanted to do was to attract followers to themselves. All of them were wrong. Leading a church is not about getting people to be good. It isn’t about following tradition and ritual. It is not even about taking over the world through evangelism. It is about being a shepherd—caring for the people God gave us. Pastoring a flock is about being gentle and kind. It is about being there for them when they are sick and hurting, leading them when they are lost, and binding the wounds of the broken hearted. It is about being God’s representative to a group of people, and through them to the whole world. Last week we saw the death of Edward Kennedy—the last Kennedy brother. The Kennedys we bred to politics. How could three bothers all be so famous and effective in transforming the world? Families like the Kennedys or the Bushes fascinate me, because of their enormous success. These families shake the world. How do they do it? The secret is not to be found in influence or power, but in the internal dynamics of the family. The family was bred to it. There was an culture of success bred into these families, and a warm affection that made it possible. Somewhere behind it all, a wise father or mother realized that the best way to transform the world was to transform a single family. They made their family a model of what they thought the world should be, and through generations of leadership, they made the world over in the image of their family. Jesus has a similar strategy. He transforms the world by transforming His family. His sheep will go where he will not. He created the atmosphere that made this possible. Jesus did not just train his flock. He brought it life. He wanted them all to have full-meaningful lives. There are two Greek words for “life.” One of them, bios, simply means to exist. The other one, zoe means to really life. Verse 10 uses he latter. The Good shepherd wants the sheep to enjoy themselves. Families who succeed are told not to settle with mere existence, but to go beyond the last generation, to succeed on a higher level. 11-15. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd ; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. Jesus loves his flock more than any one who has been there before. He lays down his life for them. This does not only mean he will die for them. It also means that he will live for them. He will put everything else aside, and go minister to them. He will defend them when they are attacked, and he will bleed for them if necessary 17-18 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." Suppose you were out in the field, keeping watch over a flock of sheep. Then imagine a pack of wolves came over the horizon. There they are, snarling howling. There are more of them than you can imagine. What would you do? I know what I would do. I would run. Those sheep are not worth m life. But Jesus is different. He gives his life for his sheep. It is his choice. He will let the wolves attack him, so the sheep can scatter. It is his choice to do so. Ultimately, we will be faced with one big question. What kind of shepherd to you want to follow—one who puts himself first, or one who puts you first. Jesus’ example is more than an example. It is a path to life. When we follow the true shepherd, we have life. When we follow false shepherds, they have life at our expense. Which do you want to follow?