The Jesus Basket

Anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. (John 10:1-2)

Years ago, while struggling in a substitute teaching job, I saw a counselor who told me I had all my eggs in one basket. I didn’t disagree, but today I see the real problem was that I only had one basket, and it was the wrong one. I’m not criticizing the counselor; just yesterday one of my twitter pastors said, “I will not always be right, but I will always be real.” Reading John 10 on the sheep and the gate reminds me of that cheesy basket analogy in many ways.

Theives and robbers steal. At 26 or so, I knew my attention was usually fixed in one direction, but all I could seem to do then was shift it from one thing to another. I only had one basket – not because that’s all God gave me at birth, but mistakes and circumstances put me in that mindframe. Thieves and robbers want us isolated and helpless, not enabled in “a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven” (Deu 10:11). Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Activities that defy God by their very nature or render us useless as His servants steal from God’s design and destroy our potential.

Jesus continues, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Moses describes the promised land as “a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it” (Deu 11:12). We too are an investment through Jesus’ death on the cross. John 10 has several scriptures that I onced pointed to thinking the Bible was just full of symbolic stories: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). Today I know our God did not create us to be fixated and stuck. Jesus is the Word, found in the Holy Bible. Establishing His Word in my mind and in my heart allows me to find again & use the gifts He gave me. “They will come in and go out” is not to say we are welcome to live as heathens two days a week. Jesus tells an invalid and a woman accused of adultery: “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). Jesus’ sheep are for His glory. He’s given us talents, and we are to use them. He says to his faithful, “Well done, my good servant!” (Luke 19:17)

Jesus says of the hired hand: “when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep” (John 10:12-13). Some baskets don’t hold up. They get holes or the handles break. Putting hope in anything circumstance dependent often brings heartache and trouble. My job of some 12 years or so could change quite a bit depending on the results of a project I’m working on. Denial, or what I think of as being overly optimistic, has often characterized my choices. As I work lately, my nerves rattle, but I lose no sleep over the outcome of my analysis. At one time, I wouldn’t have slept because I’d be at home working on the project, searching for a way for the impossible to be a reality. Rattled nerves aside, I’m so grateful today, I know God is in control, and my peace is in His plan.

Unlike theives and circumstances, Jesus offers a guarantee: Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works” (John 10:37-38). I have so much to be thankful for in my personal life. If a careful and honest assesment were done, it would be impossible to recommend any solution apart from Christ Jesus. Instead of satisfaction from circumstances, depression, or substance abuse, I have a joy filled life with my family, love for many things that remind me of God’s amazing work, and peace knowing my testimony can be used to offer hope. After Jesus confirms He is Savior by pointing to God’s miracles, John 10 reads that Jesus returns to where John the Baptist spent his early days. “There he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, ‘…all that John said about this man was true.’ And in that place many believed in Jesus” (John 10:40). Lord, I thank you for forgiveness of sin. I praise you for leading me away from trouble and heartache. I pray my testimony is received by any who’ve witnessed or experienced failure by putting their eggs in the wrong basket. I am blessed by and grateful for revelation that your Word is not a cheesy analogy or symbolic rhetoric. Christ Jesus laid down His life for me, and He is the gate. With my mouth I greatly extol you for you stand at the right hand of the needy (Psalm 109).

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

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