John 10:10 It was a mixed crowd that day, not everyone was hungry for Truth. Not everyone there actually had ears that could hear. Jesus said things like ‘I am the Door’ and ‘I am the Good Shepherd’. He spoke of the hireling that flees, deserting the flock when the thief comes. He reminded them how sheep respond to their Shepherd‘s voice and run away when they hear a stranger. He was speaking to a people, who, for many generations made a living, tending sheep…were their hearts open to understanding, recognizing He was everything they’d been waiting for…Or closed because things would change, because it would complicate their current lifestyle? What did we consider before we knew Him? What was it like coming to know Him as the Door, the Good Shepherd… to us? Humility softens and opens our hearts to understanding and surrender. Having already conquered the spirit of Pride, Humility brings down the walls of deceit. We come to know Who it is that gives us life, the One Who causes us to enjoy it and have it in abundance. Jesus is the One Who ‘unmasks’ the thief by revealing his attempts to steal, kill and destroy us and the things that bring goodness into our lives. Do our hearts weep, knowing there are hearts, those trapped, enslaved to spirits of Pride, Deceit, Self Righteousness, Fear, Anger, Unforgiveness… hearts that don’t realize they’re joined to wickedness? The thief is cunning, but when the Light of Truth, the Good Shepherd comes, the thief’s true self becomes visible. This thief isn’t all powerful, all knowing and all seeing, this thief truly doesn’t have power over us that we haven’t given him. Jesus gives us opportunity to enter through the Door, to follow the Good Shepherd, to enjoy abundant life in Him. Thank you, Jesus! Thank you for showing us the way the truth and the life, for finding us when we get lost for loving us even when it’s hard. Thank you for saving us.