“MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE, AND I KNOW THEM,
AND THEY FOLLOW ME”
GOSPEL READING : John 10. 22 – 30
In some African forests, there is a kind of female leopard that is known to be able to scent and locate where its kids or male are even at a distance of a hundred kilometers. This leopard is very dangerous and hunters have to be cautious because killing its male or kids always leads the female to conduct a terrible revenge and attack in villages around and kill either people or domestic animals. This story happened in the high mountains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is the Burundi neighboring country in the West.
There was a group of three hunters who used to trap leopards and sell the skins to foreign traders. Sometimes they could catch leopard kids and sell them as well. One day, it happened so. They caught one and escaped hurriedly with it after they had also injured its mother in the face. They had to walk more than ninety kilometers in the forest to get to their customers. It was a two days walk through the mountains. Ivory as well as animal skins and minerals were regularly taken on board by unknown aircrafts which landed at night at such many illegal small airports that exist in the Congo forests. So the hunters sold their loot and as always had to wait and help their customers while carrying the animal down to the airport. The foreign traders had to fly the next night and the leopard kid was already caged.
At nightfall, while they were ready to leave for the airport, the leopard kid began to roar and to scratch the cage strongly. They could not understand why the animal was so disturbed. As soon as they had loaded the cage on a truck ready to leave, a big leopard jumped from the bush nearby and sat next to the cage where the kid was. From that time, things changed. The traders as well as the three Congolese hunters were already seated in the truck’s cab. None of them had a gun. They decided to stop for a while and think about what they could do. None could get out off the cab because the leopard was there ready for a revenge. The traders using their radio decided to appeal for help from their friends afar telling them to come with guns. In the meantime, one of the Congolese hunters looked through the glass behind him and realized that the Leopard which was seated next to the kid was freshly wounded in the face. And surprised, he said loudly:
– What ! Look, isn’t this the mother leopard we wounded in the forest three days ago when we caught this kid? How did it know where we took its kid?
Another hunter replied and said: “ This is the kind of leopard that my late uncle had told me about. He said that it was able to scent and locate where its kids or male or a prey are even up to a distance of a hundred kilometers”. The surprising thing that happened is that the Mother-Leopard in its rage managed to break the cage and released its kid and both they disappeared in the forest before the appealed helpers arrived.
Now, what about Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour ? Prophet Isaiah had a vision of Him PIERCED (Isaiah 53). And later at the end of the nineteenth century, American Church Minister, Rev. J. WILBUR CHAPMAN, about Him wrote this marvellous poem “ONE DAY” from which Charles Howard Marsh made one of the best Easter Church hymns that our choir in Gitega sings also :
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming Oh glorious day !
Yes, like the Leopard Kid, Christians have heard His VOICE while we were all still caged by Satan under the bondage of sin. But He knew us and came to set us free and allow us FOLLOW HIM in the Eternity of glory! Isn’t this a solid reason TO PRAY WITH ASSURANCE that He cares for us?
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In Christ’s love
Bishop, Dr. Justin Baransananikiye
President,
CHRISTIANS STRENGTHENING CHRISTIANS,
http://iprayforyou.worthyofpraise.org
http://christiansstrengtheningchristian.doodlekit.com/blog
Email : baransajust@gmail.com