Reading

• John 8:12-10:21

Devotional

In today’s reading, Jesus describes Himself in three special ways: the light of the world; the gate for the sheep; and the good shepherd. Consider the words of Jesus:

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12 NIV)

Jesus offers us direction. Without Him to lead us and show us the path we should travel, we stumble and fall in the darkness. We lose our way and we are afraid because we can’t see. So many people go throughout life walking in darkness because they don’t have Jesus to guide their pathway. We need Jesus to light up the dark!

Later on, as He taught, Jesus said:

⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:9-10 NIV)

Jesus is the one and only way we can be saved. We must come to Him in order to enter in to eternal life. Jesus came for the purpose of giving us a quality of life that we could not experience without Him.

As He went on teaching, Jesus then said:

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
(John 10:11)

Jesus is our shepherd. He leads us and watches over us. He loves us so much that He offered His own life as a sacrifice to save ours. That’s true love. That’s who Jesus is. Let’s rejoice and be thankful that Jesus is our light, our gate and our good shepherd!