The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep … 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. (John 10:2, 7-9)
My children understand that Jesus is the shepherd, but they have forgotten that he is also the gate. The gate is the one entrance that the sheep go through each day, moving from the safety of the sheep pen to the dangers of the outside world. The shepherd also must come through that gate. Anyone who comes in some other way is a thief. It is important to see Jesus in this way: the filter that every follower must walk through on his way out into the day; the filter that every shepherd must move through in order to be qualified as a shepherd. When Jesus said, “whoever enters through me will be saved” he wasn’t only talking about eternal salvation but also about being “kept safe.” My sheep are scattered because they no longer filter their lives through Jesus the gate. My shepherds have failed because they no longer enter the sheep pen through Jesus the gate. You know him as shepherd, come to know him again as the gate.
— July 25, 2022