Yesterday, we said we'd unpack Jesus' words a bit.
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep.
"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are nor in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd."
John 10:11-16
The bit that strikes me is the second sentence: the good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. I understand the comparison he is making with the hired hand who might only be in shepherding for the money. It actually is a bit crazy to think about a shepherd who is in it not for the money. They're sheep after all. A person is far more valuable than a sheep. What kind of lunatic would sacrifice himself for a dumb sheep? Why is that good? Of course it is not good. If you are a sheep that's GREAT!
That, my friend, is the kind of leader we have in Jesus. He is willing to go beyond what we may be worth, what we may deserve, what is practical, what is sane...he love is outrageous.
So if you are waiting for God's love to make sense, prepare yourself, you'll be waiting for eternity. If you're ready to receive his crazy love, it is here. He is ready to give it. In fact, it has already been given.
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