Am I Part of The They?

 

Am I part of The They?

I felt badly for the little fellow. Been there and felt the same way. An outsider.

It was the beginning of the mating season for the jackass penguins.  The penguins were pairing up for the season.  The single bird watched as the pair of penguins hopped up the rocks and entered the opening of their own little cave to multiply the species.  Seconds after the pair disappeared into their dwelling my single friend hopped up the same rocks and entered the same cave.  Immediately, he was booted from the nesting place  and literally bounced down the rocks to the ground.  Rejected. 

We've all been in a similar situation.  So desiring to be included yet excluded.  Yearning to be one of The They.

We and They conjure feelings of inclusive and exclusive.  The need to belong fuels our quest for inclusion and  makes the bite of exclusion very painful and personal.

"I came so they might have Life and have it abundantly" is my theme verse to discover the meaning of Abundant Life. 

Examining the next word in John 10:10b, generate the questions, "Who was Jesus addressing when He spoke these words?"  and "Can I be a part of that They?"

As John 8 begins Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard.  He engaged in a theological discourse with the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day.  He leaves.  As He walks He notices a blind man  and heals him.  The newly sighted man is called before the Pharisees for an explanation.  The healed man gave an upsetting testimony so they expelled him from the synagogue.

 

“Jesus heard that they had put him out [of the synagogue], and finding him, He asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

John 9:35 AMP 

https://www.bible.com/1588/jhn.9.35,41.amp 

 

Without getting theological, psychological and sociological, lets' stop and relish the words, "Jesus heard....and found him..."  Consider the impact of Jesus' actions.  He responded to the single person excluded by the religious leaders. 

What must the Pharisees thought? Who is this guy to challenge our way of life?

The disciples? This will get interesting, be ready to exit stage left!

The average person in the on looking crowd? Would this Jesus come find me, please?

 

Here's the good news. This Jesus will, and has already come for you.  in a very personal fashion Jesus sees something within me, you and all the rest of The They.  That something is our need to belong and have relationship with God and others like us.  He cares so much He came, died and rose to make the way.

 

“He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.”

1 Timothy 2:4-7 MSG  Emphasis added.

https://www.bible.com/97/1ti.2.4-7.msg

 

The earthly world divides us into We and They. Jesus includes and joins.

Am I part of the They in John10?

Yes.  All includes me, and you.  Everyone includes me and you.  No longer to feel like the rejected penguin. Jesus, The All in All, notices you and me, hears us and finds us.