“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

-Gospel of John chapter 10

Verily I say unto thee, which of thee has a strong emotional connection with sheep? Havest thou been in close contact with sheep in the past year or do thee have strong feelings about sheep? Dost thou or thy neighbor or thy neighbor’s wife own sheep and if so have any of them ever been stolen?

The LORD spaketh saying “I am the Good Shepherd” yet, can thee can confess this day that the concept of sheep dost lack a certain emotional impact which wilt resonate within thy hearts?

Men and brethren, even concepts like “thieves” and “wolves” lacketh great meaning. In the present age, thine thieves steal thy credit number, or if dwelleth thee in the land of Detroit, the catalytic converter off thy truck, but not sheep. And I sayeth unto thee, all the wolves I’ve ever known dressed up like grandmas in an attempt to eat small children or played basketball in Minnesota.

Therefore, draw not nigh hither, but put off thy shoes, put up thy feet and enjoy the reimagined parable of the sheep pen that I giveth unto ye for thine enjoyment and reflection, and the enjoyment of thy neighbor and thy neighbor’s wife and thy neighbor’s donkey. A modern-day parable that shalt reverberate thy deepest hopes and fears. Behold, by my mighty hand, hath I removed the King James Version lingo so that it reads like Eugene Peterson’s The Message as written by an unqualified blogger in his basement.

The Parable of Daycare Pickup

“Very truly I tell you Religious People, anyone who does not enter the daycare by the front door check in, but sneaks in by some other way (like a window or back door), is a kidnapper, human trafficker and criminal. The one who enters by the front door check-in is the parent of the children. The person working at the daycare opens the door for the parent, and the children listen to their parent’s voice. The parent calls his or her own children by name and leads them out. When the parent has brought out all his own, they go on ahead of their children, and their children follow mom or dad because they know her voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

“Very truly I tell you, I am here to pick up my children. All who have come before me were liars, criminals and kidnappers, but my children have not listened to them. I am the one who must pick them up; and whoever goes with me will make it home. They will go to daycare and leave the daycare, but always end up back home. The person trying to kidnap them comes only to abuse and exploit them; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

“I am a good parent. A good parent makes daily sacrifices for his whole life for his kids. The person working at the daycare is not the parent and their life is not intertwined with the children. So, when the daycare worker sees disaster coming, they either send the kids home for the day or when five o clock rolls around they go home to their own life and forget about the troubles of the children. When illness, struggles, or trauma happens to my children I don’t leave them to the care of people working in the daycare, because the children are not their children, and they will not care for them as if they were their own children.

“I am a good parent; I know my kids and my kids know me— just as my Father knows me and I know my Father. I have other kids that are not at this daycare. I must go pick them up also. They too will listen to my voice, and we shall be one family. The reason my Father loves and is proud of me is that I lay down my life for others—only to take it up again. No one forces me to do this, but I lay it down willingly. I can make the choice to lay it down for others and have the authority to take it up again.

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READ THE ORIGINAL PARABLE HERE: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10&version=NLT