Good Sheep: Akin Bailey

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:1-10)

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

I think there’s something to be said about being a good sheep. When I think about this, the first thing that comes to mind is my first time on mission. It was a singularly joyful experience for me. It was not without its hardships, but unlike most memories we have, the most difficult and unpleasant are the ones I remember least. While on mission your time is not your own. You’re told what to do pretty much at all times. When to wake up, when to work, when to stop working, when to eat, sleep, and pray. The culture we’ve made for ourselves here, at least in the U.S., tells us that living in such a way is one of the worst possible things that could happen to us. Aside from work, if you don’t have full agency over every aspect of your life then something is seriously wrong. We’re continuously told that we need to be in control - of our relationships, of our time, of where we go and when. And if we don’t have that control, then we are not living. We are tending toward dissipation and impotence. We will be taken advantage of and used up, left as an empty husk of what we might have been. We are told that if we don’t have full control in our lives then we are going to die. 

Jesus doesn’t seem to think this way. Jesus seems to think that exactly the opposite is true. He puts a premium on selflessness and obedience. “He who hears these words and does them will have eternal life.” “There is no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for a friend,” “He who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life will keep it.” 

On mission with The Wesley was the first time I lost my life. I had to submit to the authority of my leaders, giving up my own will and my own desires for the sake of serving well in Haiti. And what I discovered in the midst of losing my life was a freedom I had never known before. A freedom from worry about what I should be doing or could be doing that might maximize my life or make it the best one possible. I discovered a freedom from the distractions of daily life and freedom from the loneliness of making and following my own plans for my own sake. I didn’t have to worry about those things because by submitting myself to being led on mission, I eliminated the possibility of doing anything but God’s will. I was no longer my own, I belonged fully to Him. And though I had lost my life, I was more alive than I had ever been. 

So let us become like good sheep. Let us practice humility and selflessness and obedience. Let us not obey blindly, for this is carelessness and cowardice, but let us pray and discern whether those we obey truly love us and want for our flourishing. Let us listen to our friends and trust in their correction and encouragement. Help us, Lord Jesus, not to wander from the flock seeking our own benefit and forget the sound of your voice and call. Help us not to obey the voice that would lead us away from you, and please Lord do not let it be that that voice is our own. Instead, help us, Father, to lose our lives, and help us to discover in losing them for your sake that we have them, and more abundantly. Amen.

Akin Bailey is a graduate of LA Tech and currently serves as a Missionary Intern at the Wesley. He enjoys wandering around the woods, cooking good food, spending time with his fiancée Camellia, and reading books. He is a joy, a delight, a faithful servant and disciple of Jesus, and an indescribable blessing to our community.