S163P12 – The mind of Christ: a familiar voice
Jn. 10:14-18
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.
There is no person who ever has known autonomously how to manage life. We might think that some or even most people know how to live life productively and make good decisions, but we would be wrong. No matter who the person is, no matter how successful or notable or accomplished, each person is relinquished to the position of following direction from someone or something. We move through life from day to day as a result of how we decide to respond to influence. Whenever we hear someone say that they made a decision based on that little voice inside them, we see how this works practically. The question is one of which voice or voices to follow and why.
Jesus lays out a clear hierarchy of wise direction here. He lived his life hearing the Father and recognizing his voice, then responding to that voice. His decisions were based on what the Father told him to do. The same way He recognized the Father’s voice and was influenced by it, He expects us to recognize his voice. In fact, He says that his sheep indeed know his voice. [v. 25-30] A large part of knowing his voice is first knowing him. This is because we need to be able to match the words we hear to the character of our Lord. It is not an audible sound that we recognize as his voice. The direction and prompting we receive from him is what we recognize to be his based on their content.
People make all kinds of decisions which they attribute to the voice of the Lord. Sometimes, we look at the decisions they make and understand how that could be something He wants. It lines up with his character and his word. Other times, we can see that the voice which was heard must have come from someone else. In order to know the voice of the Lord, we must spend time with him and spend time in his word. We will not be able to distinguish his voice from any others if we do not get to know him first. Father, give us the desire to spend time with our Lord and grow in relationship with him so that we know and hear his voice clearly.