Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
SATURDAY, September 4 (Paul Jones)
John 10:1-18. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
A little girl from Connecticut whom I know kept making a mistake when reciting the Lord’s Prayer each night. Her version was: “Our Father, who art in New Haven, how did you know my name?”
The child’s mother was troubled about the mistake and asked her pastor what she should do about it. The pastor replied: “I wouldn’t correct her just now, for, after all, she has hold of two wonderful truths about God: God is everywhere, even in New Haven, and God knows her name.”
There is good reason why we like to be called by name. In an impersonal world, to be called by name reminds us that we are individuals, each a sacred and unique person. In the relationships that mean most to us, we always call each other by name.
When Jesus wanted to draw a picture of God’s love, he spoke of the way a Syrian shepherd treats his sheep: he calls each by name, and the sheep follow because they recognize the voice of the one who knows them and cares for them. (1965)
PRAY for the Dioceses of Guildford and Guildford–Dorking (Canterbury, England)
Ps 30, 32 * 42, 43; Job 22:1-4, 21—23:7; Acts 13:26-43
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