It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder:
Today we ponder the I AM statement: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” What things does our world hunger and thirst for? What longings do you have in your life right now? Ponder how Jesus is the Bread of Life, and how he satisfies all our unmet longing.
Word
John 10:14-15
“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”
Meditation: Belonging in Brokenness by Julianna Shults
Do we ever really know other people?
According to every true crime show, you don’t. After too many podcasts, I suspect that everyone has secrets, some bigger than others. We hide pieces of ourselves from one another out of shame, guilt or embarrassment. Pictures on social media are cropped and filtered. Touchy subjects are avoided at family events. We warmly greet friends on Sunday morning, telling them everything is great when inside we are falling apart.
We all want to belong, and fear what would happen if we were really known. Better to hide our broken parts so we don’t have to face judgment or isolation.
Into that space we hear Jesus say, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” Every single one of us is known truly and deeply by God. Every part, inside and out, our very best and our very worst, Jesus sees us exactly as we are.
Our first reaction might be fear or embarrassment when we think of how we are known by Jesus. We don’t want our dark secrets and sin to be seen. Will God’s response to truly knowing us be to abandon us?
No, because we know the Good Shepherd. Jesus claims us as His own, even the worst parts of us. More than that, Jesus is willing to lay down His life for us. He sees us just as we are and loves, protects, and calls us His own. Jesus dies for us to forgive our sins so that we might be seen perfect and spotless by God.
Because we are loved and forgiven by the Good Shepherd, we can be confident in who God is and who God has made us to be. Community can be built as we start to more deeply know each other. As sheep of the same Good Shepherd, we belong even in our brokenness. We can be honest with each other and offer confession and absolution. Our Good Shepherd loves us, protects us, forgives us and in faith we can model that for each other.
Our Good Shepherd tells us we belong, not because of what we have done, but because of who He is. He has called us by name, so we can be open, honest, and repent to Him and to each other. Our Good Shepherd always sees us, knows us in every way, and saves us so that we can belong to Him forever.
Good Shepherd, thank you for truly knowing us and loving all of us. Thank you for making us belong to you and with one another. Amen.
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” In this world, I am always longing for more. Satisfy my deepest hunger, not only for physical nourishment. I long to be fulfilled and joyful. I find that only in you. So be the true bread of my life, and fill me up. Amen.
Benediction
May the grace of the Lord Jesus sanctify us and keep us from all evil; may he drive far from us all hurtful things; may he bind us to himself by the bond of love, and may his peace abound in our hearts. Amen.