Recognizing His Voice
Author
Milagros García Klibansky
Summary: Like the forlorn dog that regained its joy when it recognized its owner, we can flourish when the Lord calls us and shows us his love. He is the good shepherd: he knows his sheep, they hear his voice and follow him. He gives us eternal life, and no one can snatch us from his hand. Even if we stray, he sustains us, brings us back and heals our wounds. He lays down his life willingly and out of love; as we receive that abundant love, we can share it too. When our souls are downcast, we put our hope in God and praise him again.
A few days ago, while waiting for the bus, I began watching a stray dog that is almost always there. He paced back and forth and looked, as we say in Cuba, “achurrado”—bedraggled. The word means sick, sad, abandoned; in short, he was the very picture of desolation.
Some time passed, and suddenly his whole demeanor changed. He pricked up his ears, raised his head, and began wagging his tail vigorously. I was astonished, since I could not see what had caused it, but it was not long before the mystery was revealed: a man walked up to him, stroked his head, and patted his back. The animal that had looked so wretched now seemed full of energy, jumping and barking with joy. His master had arrived!
How many of us find this story familiar?
How many of us once lived “bedraggled” on the streets of life?
How did you feel when your master, the Lord of your life, caressed you?
When you were called by name and told that you were the “apple of His eye”?
Isn’t it true that you blossomed again?
“I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me…” (John 10:14) How I leap for joy when my master caresses me! If I had a tail, I would wag it too. I do not bark, but praise springs from my lips, and my chest swells because it cannot contain so much love.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…” (John 10:27) His sublime voice speaks to my soul, the only voice my heart hears.
“and I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them out of my hand” (John 10-29), and those words fall like refreshing drops upon me, and my whole being is replenished with His living water. No one! He is absolute: however far I stray, even there His hand will sustain me and bring me back. He will bind the wounds I carry and restore me; this is the promise of the One who is “Faithful and True.”
And the thing is, even though I am what I am, He lays down His life for me because He wants to lay it down, not because anyone forces Him to do so, but because He loves me. That is why I can love: I am so loved that I can share that love. It is abundant; there is more than enough for everyone.
Do you feel His love? Unquestionable, sure, lasting, unchanging, indestructible, as real as your breathing, as gentle as a spring breeze, as strong and steadfast as His life. “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (John 10:18) As real as His sacrifice.
Then say: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you troubled within me?
Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:5)