"Sheep May Safely Graze"

I love listening to “Sheep May Safely Graze”, by Johann Sebastian Bach.  The music is very comforting to me, evoking beautiful pastoral scenes and bestowing a feeling of security and peace.  It makes me think of John chapter 10, in which Jesus describes his followers as his sheep.  He explains that he is the gate by which the sheep enter their safe enclosure.  “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”  Jesus also tells us that he has come “that (we) may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:9 and 10, NIV)

Through his preaching, teaching, and healing, Jesus showed us how to live in openness, trust, and abundance.  Through his living example, as well as through the resurrection hope we have received, we are assured that we are always in God’s care and are beloved children of God’s kingdom.  When we follow Jesus Christ, we enter a pasture where we are kept safe, even when the terrain becomes rocky or when we come upon a patch where the grass is not as lush and green as we had expected.  Jesus guides us to safety, provides for our physical nourishment, and most importantly gives us the food of abundant life in him.  During this holy season, it is comforting to remember that Christ is the gate to God’s kingdom, inviting us to “come in and go out, and find pasture.”  Are we ready to respond to his invitation?