Security in Mobility
- Melody Kube
- Aug 29, 2018
- 2 min read
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. John 10:9
I heard a city boy preach on this metaphor last Sunday. He did a very good job. He was engaging and thought provoking. He made us desire to know God closer. But he only got half value out of this verse, which is completely not his fault - how would he know the nomadic principle on display here?
As settled urban people we can only grasp the first part. Jesus is the gate - I enter through him and I find my security in the perfect shelter he has built for me. I will never again feel lost or hungry. I enter through Jesus into a paradise created for me and I will be forever satisfied. Is that what our view of the Kingdom boils down to? We skip over the second part of the verse, 'cause - let's be honest - It doesn't fit with the first bit very well. Why would we leave?
This is not at all the way nomadic pastoralists use pens.
A herd's security is in its mobility. A pen is at best a temporary plan B while the shepherd rests. A herd is in less danger when on the move. Their mobility offers them fresh pasture, fresh water, and less overcrowding. As in the verse - they animals go in, and go out to find pasture. A pen is very quickly overgrazed, which leaves a muddy mess that breads disease and disease carrying insects. Trying to live in the pen would be a disaster.
The purpose of the gate is not just to keep the animals in. The purpose of the gate is to let the animals out as well!
Our security is not in the walls we build around us. Our security is in our mobility. We were created to move freely!
And more than anything our security is in our HERDSMAN.
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10: 10-11
How does this change your perspective of the Kingdom?
Photo by Jose Francisco Morales on Unsplash
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