John 10:1-18

John 10 conjures up good memories for me. The first bible study I ever led was on John 10 and no, it was not very good! My youth pastor had to bail me out as I struggled with the passage. He simply drew a circle but didn't completely connect it-he left a very small gap. He told me this was the pen in which the sheep were kept. Then he asked me one question: "Who's in the gap?"

The gap is an important place. The walls provide safety and security, but the sheep can only enter and exit through the narrow gap. At night, when the sheep are fast asleep, the gap remains open. The sheep need the gap. Life can't be lived exclusively inside or outside the pen. It's necessary to have both. Only the shepherd stands in the way of anything going in or the sheep wandering out. Only the shepherd knows the right time to be within the safety of the walls and when the sheep need to graze or find water.

You get the point: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. John 10 tells us the sheep know him, follow him in and out, and he's in the gap. It's a very good thing to be in the hands of the Good Shepherd.

But Christ asked us to live as he lives, to do as he does. My question is this: Who are you standing in the gap for? Whose soul are you the first line of defense for? Who are you leading and influencing? Who are you caring for and watching after?

I'm grateful for many people who've done this for me, but I want to send special thanks to Kenny Hale for being a shepherd to me and bringing this lesson home to me when I was only a teenager!