John 10:27-28 – My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (NKJV)

My wife Ruth and I farmed on the shores of Kagawong Lake on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. We had the privilege of raising sheep for a number of years. Since then, we have also had the privilege of doing short-term mission work in Bolivia, Brazil, and Rwanda. On most of these trips, I have used today’s verses from John 10.

My use of them stemmed from our buying the farm next door from Mr. Brown. We had a large flock of sheep, and he also had about twenty-five sheep. When he sold the farm to us, he and his wife kept their house and garage. Later, we bought all his sheep at his dispersal auction sale. We just opened the line fence and let all the sheep blend into one flock. Two years later, as a regular occurrence, I was visiting Mr. Brown, and he challenged me.

He said, “You think all those sheep are yours.”

I said, “I have a bill of sale to prove it.”

There were probably at least ten of his original twenty-five in my flock. They were perhaps a hundred yards down in the pasture behind the garage. Mr. Brown called, and the ten left the flock and came to the back of the garage, while the balance of seventy-five or eighty paid no attention.

I used that scenario time and time again on my mission trips, and I would say, “I am from Canada. I do not know any of you. You are like my flock of sheep: some are white, some are darker, some have beautiful hair, some are bald like me. But what matters is where your heart is. The Lord Jesus is going to come back and call those who know and love Him to be with Him eternally. It will be like Mr. Brown’s sheep: only those who know the Saviour will hear and understand the call. Make sure that you know Christ as your personal Saviour so that you will answer the call of the Master as Mr. Brown’s sheep answered his call.”

Prayer: Lord, we pray that each one reading this devotional has had, or will have a personal experience of accepting the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour and are anticipating the call of the Master. May we all meet in heaven one day! Amen.

John Rowe Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada