I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They 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.- John 10:9-10
Who is the thief John speaks of? The thief is Satan, the one who is referred to by many names throughout the Bible. He is the accuser, adversary, deceiver, lawless one, roaring lion, ruler of demons, ruler of this world, tempter, thief and wicked one, and that is just some of the 41 names he goes by. You will take notice that none of them are positive. Christ, on the other hand, is called by over 200 names. Here are some of them: Almighty God, Alpha & Omega, The Amen, Anointed One, Author of Eternal Salvation, Faithful and True, Healer, Image of God, I AM, the Light of the World, Living Bread, Living Water, and Lord. That is but a fraction of the names Jesus Christ is referred to as in scripture. Here in John He is the gate. It is by this gate that we may enter into peace, fulfillment and as a result, contentment. These are possible only through a right relationship with God. Without God’s forgiveness through the blood Christ shed on the cross at Calvary we would all die in our sins.
Christ is our shepherd. Through Him we can find peaceful pasture just as a sheep would. Like an earthly shepherd, He watches over us and protects us from the ‘evil one’ (another name for Satan). We can live a life filled with contentment and fulfillment if we would listen to the Holy Spirit of God and do as He instructs. It is when we ignore His instruction that we begin to get ourselves into trouble. We will never know ourselves better than our Heavenly Father knows us. He knows our thoughts and motivations. We could never fool Him into thinking we have honorable intentions if we do not. He knows us intimately, which is the way we should know Him. Christ came to give us life to the fullest. He didn’t come to bog us down with ritualistic requirements. We are only truly free when we surrender … to God. It is through our genuine conversion into the family of God that we find we have a burning desire to live for Him. There is no other way. We can’t fake it. We can’t pretend. God knows our hearts. He also knows what is best for us. He has provided in Christ the gate that leads to life as it can and should be lived. We think we know, but our ignorance is startling. Only through Christ can we achieve that which we truly seek: peace, joy and contentment in this life.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
