“Moose is out!”
“He’s down at the radio station. Tony is with him.”
It was 4 a.m. on a school morning, and I dreaded getting out of bed and chasing down my horse and his sidekick, the Shetland pony he shared a pasture with. I had to get them both back in the pasture where they belonged.
Moose and Tony were pretty slick. The gate was barb wire stretched across the gap, and a metal wire loop went over the post of the fence and the wooden pole at the end of the fence. The horses put their noses under the wire loop and pushed up until they had the gate loose, and it fell over, and open.
Then they went for an adventure looking for greener grass.
Gates are important, keeping what is valued safe and what is dangerous out.
Have you ever tried to build a gate?
It’s not always easy. To make gates strong, they can get too heavy and then you have a problem with sagging. The gate won’t latch well and isn’t straight.
Sometimes the gates can be so flimsy, they don’t do their job of keeping in the cattle or sheep or goats.
The Bible talks about gates and sheep pens. The land where Jesus lived wasn’t filled with trees to build fences and homes. The people used stone and rocks. Thorn branches could be used to help reinforce stone fencing, or along the top to discourage thieves.
In the evening, depending on how large the sheep fold was, shepherds would bring their flocks to enter the fold. The sheep knew the voice of their shepherd and followed him. Several flocks could be put together in the pen.
Actually, there usually was not a gate as we think of one. A shepherd or hired man would sleep in the gap in the fence that the flock used to enter and leave the sheep fold. By staying in the opening and being a human gate, the shepherd could protect the sheep from predators or people coming in to steal them. The shepherd was putting himself in danger to protect the flocks.
Take a little time to read John 10:1-6, where Jesus describes the situation. Then in verses 7 to 11, it says: “Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 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.”
The “I am” statements of Jesus are beautiful and help show us who He is. Here Jesus gives us a clear view of Himself as a gate to God, and a relationship with Him of salvation and a good life, and as a good shepherd, protecting us with His life as He provides for us and keeps us from danger.
Are you a part of His flock? Are you safe in His fold?
