No One Will Snatch Them

Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?’ Others were saying, ‘These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’ John 10:19-30

We can't help but worry about those we love, especially when they are sick or have received a difficult diagnosis. We don't want to even consider living without them. We don't want them to suffer pain or harm, let alone be lost to us. Yet, we know pain and suffering is part of life and all of us will meet our end. For those who know us by name, and to whom we are known by name, we are precious and wanted in every moment that we have.

Jesus is being tested - as usual. His response is a simple one about the relationships forged in love. When we are known and loved we do not have to question the motives or the thinking of others. We are held closely, cared for and loved tenderly. Despite all the world can dish out, we are reminded that we are held by God's love, surrounded, as parents arms around a child, secure in the love that is unmoving and permanent. We are invited to live as those so loved that nothing will be able to remove us from that place of secured and solid presence.

Today, I ask God to hep me live the assurance that we are so very loved by God and held closely and tenderly. May we be the secure loving hands needed in this world today.