The political conventions are nearly finished.  The tickets for the major parties are set.  Now the race will begin in earnest for the control of the government.  These next sixty days should be very interesting.  A lot is at stake.  We need to spend time getting to know how the candidates believe about the issues that are of importance to each of us.  Then we need to pray seeking God's direction.  I believe the race is a tight one...and each vote will be important.  This is what living in America is all about. 

For one more lesson, I would have us turn our attention to John 10.  Jesus has just been speaking about His sheep and His flock.  He has just been saying that no one will ever snatch His own from His hand, that He is the shepherd who will keep the sheep safe forever.  If Jesus would have stopped there it would have meant that He was placing all His trust in His own keeping power.  What a tragedy that would have been because Jesus never placed confidence in Himself.  Jesus was so sure of Himself because He was so sure of God.  Jesus attitude to life was not self-confidence, but God-confidence.  Then, in verse 30 Jesus makes the supreme claim: I and the Father are one.  Let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves what this might mean?  Some have felt that it is so difficult to understand.  Let us look at God's Word for help with the interpretation.  John 17:11 states: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one.  In that verse Jesus conceives of the unity that one believer can have with another believer as being similar to His own unity with God.  Then Jesus continues, in John 17:20-22 by stating: My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.  The goal of the Christian life is that we should be one as Christ and His Father are one.  Now, my friends, the secret of that unity is love.  Christians are one because we love one another.  Jesus is one with God because of His love for God.  And what is the proof of that love, of that unity?  It is obedience.  Jesus could claim that He and God were one because He loved God perfectly and obeyed God perfectly. 

So, how did the people react when they heard this powerful statement?  Verses 31, 33 - Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him...We are not stoning you for any of these, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.  The Jewish leaders believed that what Jesus had said invaded the realm that belonged only to God.  God was one.  How dare Jesus to claim that He was God.  I believe the words of Jesus - about being the door and the good shepherd - had pricked their consciences.  I believe they knew, deep in their hearts, that what He said was true.  But, instead of listening, they tried to eliminate the opposition.  They were seeking to stone the voice that was calling them to repentance. 

In verse 36, Jesus makes two claims about Himself.  First, that He was consecrated by God: what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own...  This word translated "set apart" has the idea of rendering a person, place, or thing different from other person, places, or things because it is set aside for a special purpose or task.  Let me share a couple of examples: the Sabbath is set apart - it is different from other days of the week because it has a different purpose; prophets and priests were set apart - they were different from other men because they had a different purpose.  Jesus is stating that God had set Him apart from other men, had made Him different from other men, because He had given Him a special task to do.  Friends, God has also set us apart; we are to be different from other people because we have a different task from others.  You are to be more than just a teacher; you are to be a "set apart" teacher.  You are to be more than just a housewife; you are to be a "set apart" housewife.  You are to be more than just a mechanic; you are to be a "set apart" mechanic.  God has set us apart from all others.  People are to take notice we have been with Jesus.  His presence is to affect every area of our lives - Acts 4:13 - When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 

A second truth Jesus made about Himself, also found in verse 36, is that He had been sent by God into the world: ...and sent into the world.  The word used is the same as the word used for sending an ambassador from one country to another.  Jesus Christ, in affect, was saying that He came to represent God.  You and I are to be Christ's ambassadors.  How is the world to perceive what God is like unless they see Him through our lives and actions.  What a privilege to represent Him!

Finally, Jesus invites the Jewish leaders to accept Him on the basis of His deeds and not just His words.  Words are something about which a man can argue, but a deed is something about which there is no argument.  Jesus invited His listeners to believe Him on the basis of His life and what they saw more than upon what they heard.  Jesus invites us to have our lives be examples that others might come to Christ just through observing them - Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 

I leave you with a challenge, even as it challenges my own life: When your neighbors observe you on a daily basis, who do they really see?  Your life is a reflection of whom? 

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.  (Katherine Mansfield)