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“Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” - John 10:9
Recently I tried to watch a new television series but realized at the last minute that I didn’t have the streaming service that it was playing on. I thought it was on Netflix but discovered later that it was on Hulu. It’s a dilemma that those of us who watch movies and programming in this new digital era face.
You may have one service, but then you realize that the programs you want to watch are on another. It is what some call “the streaming struggle,” and it has forced streaming companies and service providers to launch new apps that are designed to aggregate all or most of the services and programming together on one platform.
They have identifiers like “plus,” or “prime,” or “max.” And they are supposed to do what the others don’t do or can’t do individually—give you all the access that you need, to any show, at any time, on any platform.
The truth is that no one wants limited access, whether at a game, a concert, or an office building. People want all access to people, spaces, and programs so they can go where they need to go, get what they need to get, and do what they need to do.
I think that is what Jesus has in mind when He says in John 10:9, “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” It is one thing to have all access to a sporting event or streaming service, but it’s an entirely different thing to have all access to the presence and power of God.
In this verse, Jesus is appropriating that metaphor to describe the way that His care and constant devotion to those who belong to Him give them access to greater things in life. Jesus is saying that to experience the blessings and the benefits that are available from the Shepherd, they must go through Him as the door!
Jesus is extending an invitation to experience something that we cannot experience any place else – comfort in a world of discomfort, and peace in a world of war. God wants to give YOU all access to Him!
Recently I tried to watch a new television series but realized at the last minute that I didn’t have the streaming service that it was playing on. I thought it was on Netflix but discovered later that it was on Hulu. It’s a dilemma that those of us who watch movies and programming in this new digital era face.
You may have one service, but then you realize that the programs you want to watch are on another. It is what some call “the streaming struggle,” and it has forced streaming companies and service providers to launch new apps that are designed to aggregate all or most of the services and programming together on one platform.
They have identifiers like “plus,” or “prime,” or “max.” And they are supposed to do what the others don’t do or can’t do individually—give you all the access that you need, to any show, at any time, on any platform.
The truth is that no one wants limited access, whether at a game, a concert, or an office building. People want all access to people, spaces, and programs so they can go where they need to go, get what they need to get, and do what they need to do.
I think that is what Jesus has in mind when He says in John 10:9, “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” It is one thing to have all access to a sporting event or streaming service, but it’s an entirely different thing to have all access to the presence and power of God.
In this verse, Jesus is appropriating that metaphor to describe the way that His care and constant devotion to those who belong to Him give them access to greater things in life. Jesus is saying that to experience the blessings and the benefits that are available from the Shepherd, they must go through Him as the door!
Jesus is extending an invitation to experience something that we cannot experience any place else – comfort in a world of discomfort, and peace in a world of war. God wants to give YOU all access to Him!
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