Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
The Names and Titles of God (The Door) John10:7
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
King James Version
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Sorry I'm late this morning, but the weather is so gorgeous that Tippy and I walked nearly FIVE MILES. Normally we just walk along the Main Street, passing all the businesses, restaurants, and convenience stores along the way. Sometimes we veer off into the neighborhoods for a quiet stroll, but these usually end in a Cul-de-Sac, and you have to walk out the way you went in. I consider this somewhat boring. I want a destination! I'm the same way with my Motorcycle. While it's delightful to be "In the Wind", even if I'm just riding around in circles, it's much better if I have a destination.
There is a beautiful pond about a mile and a half from my home. It has a boat dock for canoes and other non-power boats, and several miles of woodland trails. The parking lot/entrance to this little gem is exactly two miles from where I live. Normally, this wouldn't pose a problem at all, but the two miles are along highways, with no sidewalk, shoulder, or crossing lights. It's OK at six in the morning, before traffic picks up, but the the walk home is brutal. Rush hour traffic on the Rt 3 Alternate, twenty miles from Boston, and everybody in a hurry to get to work to be able to pay a $600,000.00 mortgage! YIKES!
So now the search began, to find an alternative way to get to the pond without having to cross Route 228, Route 53, or the Ramp to US Highway 3. Several paths into the woods at the ends of the Cul-de-Sacs looked promising.
Alas, each path was worse than the one before it. Deep Bogs of mud, rushing streams, thick bushes, fences, and PRIVATE PROPERTY signs caused me to reject one pathway after another. I was even told by a neighbor that one particular pathway was infested with hungry coyotes (the four-legged variety).
Finally, at the end of a convoluted little neighborhood exactly 1.5 miles from home, I came across a wooden footbridge. This led into a wooded area that I recognized from my days of hiking the trails with Penny(RIP). At the other end of the trail was the parking lot gate that had been nearly impossible to access on foot. It just seems a little weird to me that one has to drive somewhere in order to go walking!
While I always try to include a little parable in my Daily Meditation, this one is a bit imperfect. If it were to be a true parable, the ONLY way into the pond would be the little wooden footbridge. There would be no parking lot entrance, however difficult it would be to access. It wouldn't matter if you drove a Mercedes or a Maserati, neither of those cars would fit on the footbridge. The only way to get to that pond would be to find out about the footbridge (usually from a neighbor who has known about it for a while), and walk across it.
The abundance of trees in New England are effective barriers that keep people out, but in the Middle East, there are few trees. There are, however, plenty of rocks, and these were used to construct little walled enclosures to keep the sheep safe at night. Since there would be very little wood to construct a gate, the shepherd would often sleep right in the gap of the enclosure, and, thus become its "Door". Nothing could get in or out without going through the Shepherd. Since there was only one shepherd for a lot of sheep, there could only be one way in or out of the "sheepfold".
There are lots of religions in our beautiful, diverse planet. People of all cultures seem to have this longing for the Divine. It appears to be built-in. Philosophers like to say that "all religions are the same", but, on closer inspection, we can see that they really aren't the same at all. People will try all kinds of ways to get to that pond, but there is only one footbridge.
With a claim like that of Jesus, that ONLY He is "The Door", we have to look at it seriously. There are three possibilities:
1. He was lying? If He knew there were other ways to God, and yet said He was the only Way, He would not have been telling the truth. That doesn't seem to be His nature though, when He said so many other wonderful things.
2. He was crazy? If He believed in what He said, but it wasn't true, then He would have been crazy. Anyone who says they're God who isn't would be certifiably nuts.
3. He was telling the Truth. That third option can only be accepted by Faith because it is so counter-intuitive. Yet, Scripture tells us that this faith doesn't have to be "conjured up" by ourselves, but is graciously provided by the Holy Spirit, motivated by God's Infinite Grace.
You don't have to BUILD the footbridge, nor do you have to buy a ticket to walk over it. It isn't guarded by someone who asks you three questions that can't be answered, nor is there a someone who gives you a list of good deeds you must do to cross over.
Think of me as the neighbor telling you about the footbridge that has been there for thousands of years. See you at the pond!
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS