#JESUS2019 - Daily DevotionalsSample

GATEKEEPER - this is the word that particularly stands out to me when I read these verses.

That Jesus is called a shepherd, indeed, a good shepherd, is a comparison that we know well. We associate it, for example, with how Jesus protects and leads us, how he cares and provides for us. These are essential characteristics of Jesus, and they create the foundation for our trust in him. He is our shepherd and we are his sheep.

A few verses later, in verse 7, Jesus explains that he is the gate for the sheep. So he takes on a double role: he is the shepherd and the gate at the same time. It is obvious that we also have a double role: as sheep and as gatekeepers. (It’s nice to be more than just a sheep, isn’t it?)

The gatekeeper makes it possible for the shepherd and sheep to find one another. The gatekeeper doesn’t try to push out the sheep when he sees the shepherd in the distance, but he waits until the shepherd is there and enters the fold. This means that gatekeepers don’t push anyone towards Jesus: instead they wait for the moment that Jesus has decided to step into the life of another person. Then the gatekeepers are ready, and will do everything in their power to make the encounter possible. The gatekeepers prepare the way, open the door; they hit the switch for the key moments, moments that change lives.

Then, the gatekeeper lets the shepherd and the sheep out into the open, onto the field together. So they support others on their journeys with Jesus towards freedom, fullness and truly living.

And the gatekeeper knows the shepherd, so he only lets the true shepherd in and no deceivers. In other words: the gatekeeper knows Jesus so well, that he can distinguish his truths from the lies of the devil and the world, and when in doubt he slams the door in the enemy’s face.

Would you like to be such a gatekeeper?

ACTION STEP

Through which door are you going to pass today? Maybe the entrance door of your workplace, the apartment door of your shared flat, or the automatic door of a shopping center? Leave a “bookmark” for these doors, and remember to be a gatekeeper at this specific place, so that somebody else can experience Jesus as his good shepherd!

Mirijam Buschmann – ICF Berlin