I’m not trying to be Lex, and he isn’t interested in being me. One
thing we do have in common is having a couple of good friends. These
friends of ours don’t need to give us a lot of instruction either. They just
call our names. The promise Jesus made to His friends was simply this:
He promised to be a voice they could trust. All He asked His friends to do
was to run toward it.
Jesus talked about sheep and shepherds a lot. I’ve had a couple of
dogs. I’ve even briefly had a parakeet and a turtle. But I could never
really relate when Jesus talked about what it’s like to have a lot of sheep.
He said sheep can recognize the shepherd’s voice because it’s a voice
they’ve come to trust. I think I understand a little more now what He was
saying.
God doesn’t just give us Himself. Sometimes He gives us a few other
people in our lives whose voices we can trust. Figure out what Jesus’
voice sounds like in your life. He’s standing at the end of the track calling
your name. Run as fast as you can in His direction.
I had Lex come and speak to a university class I teach. Hundreds of
students sat spellbound as Lex spoke to them for an hour. There was a
grand piano on the stage, and he even laid down a song I’m still
humming. It turns out the guy has some pretty strong vocal pipes too.
When class was over, we got in my car and made the forty-five-minute
drive back to the Olympic training center. When I turned on my blinker
to make a right turn, Lex leaned over and said, “Bob, it’s the next street.”
I just about swerved off the road. “What?” I asked in amazement. Here’s
the crazy part: he was right.
“How did you know that?” I asked him, still stunned as I made the
next right.
“I keep track of where I am. It helps me find what I need,” he said
confidently.