Two shepherds are leaning on their staffs, and one says to the other, "I need new sandals, I can't pay my bills, my health is lousy, my teenage son is doing terrible in school." The other says, "Well, don't lose any sheep over it." Did you know that worry and anxiety can actually cause us to lose a lot of things of value. Jesus as the good shepherd has come to provide a place of refuge.

In John 10:11 Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Jesus loves and cares for those who come to Him. He is the good shepherd who calls His sheep by name. He provides all their needs and gives them refuge from the predators and the storms that threaten. In the previous chapter Jesus had healed a man who had been blind from birth. This man came to Jesus and believed in Him. Unfortunately, the Jewish religious leaders had agreed that if any should confess Jesus to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue (John 9:22). Jesus hearing that he had been put out, found him, and received him as his own (John 9:35-38). He thus demonstrated the qualities of a good shepherd, seeking and finding the lost.

As the good shepherd, Jesus willingly gave His life for all the lost. Jesus said, "No one has taken it from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative" (John 10:18). Christ can indeed restore our souls, and even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death He is with us, and we can dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23). No wonder He is the good shepherd!

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