The Stronger Hand

John 10:27–30

Phrases that spoke to me today:
• “My sheep hear my voice”
• “I know them, and they follow me”
• “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish”
• “No one can take them out of my hand”

Applying the Word to My Life:
There is a big difference between holding on and being held. A lot of my life gets lived in the first mode. I hold on to money because it feels like security. I hold on to control because it feels safer than trust. I hold on to my place, my plans, my resentments, and my image because all of those things can start to feel like the way I keep myself from falling apart. But we spent a lot of time this week learning about a body of Christ that stays together not by clinging to these things, but by letting go. How is this even possible?

My ability to hold on to worldly things is limited by my own strength. No matter how hard I try, eventually that strength will fail. That is a terrible foundation for my own life, let alone an entire community. If this is going to last, something stronger is required.

And that is exactly what Jesus gives us here. The body of Christ is not held together by how tightly we can hold on. It is held together because Christ holds us first. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” He does not describe a people frantically trying to keep themselves from falling apart. He describes a people who are known, called, and held.

A lot of what I cling to is really my attempt to hold myself together. I hold on to money because I am afraid. I hold on to control because I do not want to feel vulnerable. I hold on to my place, my plans, my resentments, and my image because all of them feel like they can keep me from falling apart. But if Christ is really holding me, then I do not need those things to do what only He can do. I can let them loosen. Not because they never mattered, but because they were never meant to be the thing carrying the weight of my life.

That is what makes this such a fitting end to the week. We have spent days talking about what has to loosen if a body is really going to live in Christ. Possessions. Comparison. Control. Other people’s debts. None of that loosens because I finally become strong enough to pry my own fingers open. It loosens because I realize I was never holding myself together in the first place. Christ was. And if I really believe that, it should change the way I live my life.

What would loosen in me if I really believed I was already held by Christ?

My Response for Today:
Today, I will notice one thing I am clinging to and place it back into Christ’s hands.