On Voices, Sheep, & Jennifer Aniston
I know I drew cute little sheep, but these verses used to terrify me. Jesus is calling Himself the shepherd, and His followers the sheep. The sheep are supposed to hear His voice. Except…my ewe-self can identify the voice of Jennifer Aniston far quicker than she distinguishes the voice of God. Does that mean I’m not a follower of Christ?
Not necessarily. Doesn’t it take time to be able to recognize someone’s voice? I’ve spent countless hours with Jennifer Aniston: Friends episodes, Office Space, Bruce Almighty, Along Came Polly, and The Switch, just to name a few. Though we don’t have a relationship, I know her voice. Of course, I don’t really know her and she isn’t even aware of the existence of a girl named Beth Pensinger.
But God is. And He invites me to something far more profound than His next red-carpet movie premiere. My invitation references a relationship with this complex Being. Experiences. Interaction. Expectation of hearing from Him.
I’m no expert on shepherding, but I have a pretty good idea that the longer the sheep spend in their shepherd’s presence, the easier it is to recognize his voice above the bleating, grunting, and snorting of the other sheep. Even if they sound like Jennifer Aniston.
Wow! This is profound! No matter how many times I read that verse, I get something different every time. Great insights. Thanks for sharing them, Beth.
Yay–I’m glad you got something out of it. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Oh Beth… Thanks for this reminder today:)
You are most welcome 🙂
🙂 you always bring a smile to my face. Today, you’ve made me thankful that I’ve spent so much time in our homeschooling journey reading the Bible and praying with my boys. I can see that they recognize his voice because of that investment of time when I was antsy to get on the the ‘real’ academic work! <3
Sweet, Carol Anne!