“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” [John 10:26-30 NIV]
Don’t you love the picture this verse paints? It’s a picture of eternal confidence. Listen to those words … I know [my sheep]. I give them eternal life. They shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
Look at those wonderful words one more time. Know. Eternal. Never. No one can …. No one can!
I’ve known some people who are so anxious that they think they can “lose” their salvation by turning the wrong way off the freeway. They are afraid that God has forgotten them or will forget them. They doubt that their salvation is real, or that it is strong enough to hold them in the tough times.
Well, beloved, Christ knows you … He has given you eternal life and you shall never perish. He paints a picture of one hand covering another, one palm up, one palm down, clasped together tightly. It is His Hand and the Father’s Hand and you are safely tucked away between them. Of course, we also have a part, we listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and we follow Him. But the confidence is found not in our ability but in His ability to keep us tucked safely in His care.
With that in mind, “Let the eternal life within thee express itself in confident rejoicing.” [Spurgeon’s Daily Devotions, June 16]
