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The Shepherd Calls His Sheep by Name, July 27
He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.... The sheep hear
his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
John 10:2, 3
.
The path of the upright is the path of peace. It is so plain that the humble,
God-fearing man can walk in it without stumbling and without making crooked
paths. It is a narrow path; but men of different temperaments can walk side by side
if they but follow the Captain of their salvation. Those who wish to carry along all
their evil traits and selfish habits cannot walk in this path, for it is too straight and
narrow.
What pains the Great Shepherd takes to call His sheep by name and invite them
to follow in His footsteps. He seeks the wandering. He flashes the light from His
Word to show them their peril. He speaks to them from heaven in warning and
reproofs, and in invitations to return to the right path. He seeks to help the erring by
His presence and to lift them when they fall. But many have followed the path of
sin so long that they will not hear the voice of Jesus. They leave all that can give
them rest and security, yield themselves up to a false guide, and presumptuously
hurry on in blind self-confidence, going further and further from light and peace,
from happiness and rest....
The cross of Christ is our only hope. It reveals to us the greatness of our
Father’s love and the fact that the Majesty of heaven submitted to insult, mockery,
humiliation, and suffering for the joy of seeing perishing souls saved in His kingdom.
If you love your children, let it be your chief study to prepare them for the future,
immortal life.... Work while it is day; redeem the time, and win the crown of
immortal glory. Save yourself and your household, for the salvation of the soul is
precious (
Testimonies for the Church 4:502, 503
).
Many a husband and father might learn a helpful lesson from the carefulness of
the faithful shepherd. Jacob, when urged to undertake a rapid and difficult journey,
made answer:
“The children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and
if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.... I will lead on softly,
according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure”
(
Genesis 33:13, 14
).
In life’s toilsome way let the husband and father “lead on softly,” as the compan-
ion of his journey is able to endure. Amidst the world’s eager rush for wealth and
power, let him learn to stay his steps, to comfort and support the one who is called
to walk by his side (
The Ministry of Healing, 374
).
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