The Recognizable Voice of a Very Good Shepherd

I have a super-sense. I don't know if it's the one I'd pick for myself, but here it is. You know how, in a crowded, noisy party, Superman can isolate a whispered phone conversation in another room? I can do that. Sort of. Although here's how it works.

Amy: "I love this song."

Everyone else at the table: "There's music playing?"

Amy: "You can't hear that?" (I sing a few bars...)

Everyone else at the table: "That's incredible. You can hear that over the party of 30 8th-grade-girls at the table next to us? Amy? Amy?"

Amy: (Too busy singing...)

In John 10, Jesus tells a parable about a good shepherd. He says that the sheep follow the good shepherd because they know his voice. It's a beautiful picture, isn't it? The shepherd spends enough time with the sheep - caring for them, leading them, talking to them - that they recognize his voice when he calls and will go where he leads.

I was thinking about how my "supersense" is kind of like that - it works best with my favorite artists - the ones I've spent the most time listening to. Hearing as little as one note sometimes, I can start right in because I am so familiar with those voices. I know them, I love them, and it's almost a physical impossibility for me to keep from singing along.

I'm humbled by the reality that Jesus invites us to know him that well. He wants us to spend so much time listening to his voice, reading his words, absorbing his presence, that it takes but one word for us to recognize when he is speaking - and maybe even more importantly, to recognize when someone other than the good shepherd is calling us. He wants us to love his voice so much that we can't help but sing along.

Another thing that strikes me about this story is that sheep don't talk. And they're not really capable of having a 2-sided relationship. In order for any bond to be built between the shepherd and the sheep, the shepherd has to take the initiative. The shepherd does all the work. And all the talking.

The job of the sheep is just to stay within the reach of the shepherd's voice.