We pause on Good Friday to reflect on the need for hopelessness to keep our hearts, minds, and soul in the correct place--allowing God to lead.

When Jesus states, “I am the Good Shepherd,” we need to immediately ask, “Am I a good sheep?” Which, leads to, “what makes a good sheep?” Good sheep follow, and that requires trust. For us to be a good sheep then, we must trust Jesus enough to go where he leads.

In John 10, Jesus uses a series of metaphors about sheep and shepherding. We are the sheep, and in the first section, Jesus is the one gate through which they need to pass. Today, people are trying all kinds of things to find life, when Jesus is the only way. Because he is the one gate, we must ask ourselves, “Am I entering through that gate?”

At the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.” As light illuminates it can both reveal imperfections and show the way forward. God’s light is life-giving, but it can be painful, and each day we need to ask ourselves, “Am I walking in the light?”

As Jesus lives, heals, and does other miracles, others are drawn to him. In John 6, we have a crowd following Jesus for bread. Jesus declares to them, “I am the bread of life.” He wants them to understand, believe, and be changed because he is the Messiah. As we engage this story, we must as ourselves: Am I hungry for the Bread of Life? Am I willing to lose everything for him?

When Moses encounters God, God makes the statement that “I AM WHO I AM.” God withstands any attempt on our part to fit him into our systems, definitions, or assumptions. Instead, he is transcendently beyond us and chooses how to reveal himself to us. Our only response in the face of this overwhelming divinity is to, like Moses, ask “who am I?”

When you grow something, there is an end goal. God’s goal for us is to deny ourselves and live for him. As we do that, the Holy Spirit brings about good fruit in our lives that we enjoy and that influences others.

Today we look at the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. Jesus challenges those he is speaking to and his disciples to be people who make their lives good dirt, where the Kingdom of Heaven can take root and grow. May those who have eyes and ears listen and hear!

Growing fruit in the garden is a process. Growing spiritual fruit in our lives is much the same. It requires God’s pruning action, and our intentional remaining in Christ. It is a shaping of our character more than our behavior. It is not necessarily comfortable, but it is always beneficial.

We are constantly growing as soon as we are born. We live in a world that calls us to grow for ourselves. Today we look at 1 and 2 Peter to see that we are called to something more. May we be encouraged to live for God and make every effort to grow our faith for him.