Other Sheep

"I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd." (John 10:16)

Why did Jesus say: "I have other sheep too"? You mean there are people who are not like me that He loves and calls to follow Him? I grew up in a church group that was strongly mission-minded. There was no doubt in my mind that Jesus loved "all the children of the world," whatever their color. We must take them the Gospel, get them "saved," organize them into congregations of believers, and teach them how to behave as Christians—so I thought. When we had accomplished this, we would have little groups of people here and there throughout the world who were, except for the color of their skin and what they served for dinner, pretty much just like me.

I am constantly revising my thinking as I meet people who remind me of the woman at the well. I'm not sure she had any personal beliefs at all. "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain," she said, "and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is where one ought to worship." No confession of her own is evident here. But when Jesus told her about living water that could well up in her like a fountain gushing everlasting life, she replied eagerly, "Sir, give me this water." Even as she went back to her village, she was not sure that this was the Son of God, yet we have no problem believing that she experienced salvation.

Just today I had a lovely conversation with someone whose beliefs and traditions are quite different from mine. An ardent student of the Word, she sincerely desires to draw close to God and to please Him. No, she is not in the same "sheepfold" as I am, but if she's listening to the same Shepherd, how can I say she is not one of the same flock? Jesus' words imply that these "others" already belong to Him; they are already His because they have been given to him by the Father (see verse 29, also 6:37 and 17:6) He must bring them; there is a Divine imperative. Love is the drawing force, and when these others hear His call and respond, we are united by the shepherd into one flock. The oneness comes, not because we are alike, but because we share the life of God through His Spirit.

As I talked with my friend, she exuded light and love. I could not help but be thankful that Jesus has "other sheep."

MaryMartha

Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.