Jesus is your gate and ticket home

Every day of your life, doors of opportunity exist in front of you. We choose to walk through some and ignore others. Some doors lead to joy, others to regret. I’ve found that life is defined by the doors we walk through. Among these, one door stands out as the most important. 

One day, after healing a blind man, Jesus faced criticism from Jewish religious leaders who saw themselves as God’s gatekeepers — the ones who decided for God who was in and who was out. Jesus heard this and responded with a teaching. 

In John 10, Jesus describes a sheepfold with one legitimate entry point — one door, one gate. He explains that thieves enter by other means, but the true shepherd enters through the gate. Jesus then makes an unexpected claim. He says, “I am the gate.”  

In the first century, shepherds would often sleep across the entrance to the sheepfold at night, acting as a literal gate themselves. Nobody could come in and no sheep could go out without going through “the gate.” 

The sheepfold represents safety and belonging for the sheep. In many ways, it was home for the sheep. In a similar way, humanity longs to return home to God. Jesus says, “I am the gate. I am your ticket home. You want in? You gotta come through me!” 

 Of course, a shepherd doesn’t leave the sheep in the sheepfold 24/7 (after all, what sort of life would that be?!?). As the morning sun rises, the shepherd leads the sheep out the gate into green pastures where they find freedom, nourishing grass and water. 

In the same way, Jesus doesn’t want to lock you up in the sheepfold. Your best life, represented by good pastures, is found outside the sheepfold under Jesus’ guidance. 

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “When God closes a door, He’ll open a window.” While that sounds great, it’s a myth. When God closes a door, he does so for a reason, and we should not try to find a window to crawl through anyway. The truth is, “Jesus is the door. When He opens, walk through. When He closes, wait.” 

I know this — you will have countless opportunities to walk through doors in the future. I have found the most important one to walk through is Jesus. Are you ready to open the door? 

Eric Rust is the pastor of Cedar Hills Church. He can be reached at cedarhillschurch.com.