Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Who is this Voice?

A few years ago, a new guy moved to my country neighborhood. While walking one day, I stopped to introduce myself and welcomed him to the area. I met his three beautiful short-haired dogs; I wanted to pet them, but they were unfamiliar with me so they kept their distance. The dogs are often outside playing with each other when I‘m walking by. They used to bark at me, but now they just basically ignore me. After all these years, the dogs and I still don’t know each other. They see me and I see them, but we’re still strangers. Sometimes I call for them to come closer but, since I‘m not their master, they don‘t pay any attention to my voice and sometimes run away from me.

While reading in the Book of John, I felt like my New Year’s priority should be to listen and follow the voice of Jesus more vividly in 2025. Let’s focus on Jesus’ illustration in John 10:2-5 TPT: “But the true Shepherd walks right up to the gate, and because the gatekeeper knows who He is, he opens the gate to let Him in. And the sheep recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, for He calls His own by name and leads them out, for they belong to Him. And when He has brought out all His sheep, He walks ahead of them and they will follow Him, for they are familiar with His voice. But they will run away from strangers and never follow them because they know it’s the voice of a stranger.” 

The gatekeeper was in charge of a large fold where several flocks were kept. The sheep only recognized the voice of their own shepherd and responded only to him. Believers are members of Jesus’ flock, so there is only one voice, one way, and one will for us. In a culture of exceedingly-complex living, the sure way to peace of mind, purpose, and meaningful commitment is found in knowing and following the true Shepherd’s voice. There’s a lot of false/evil voices in the world that we should run away from.

Jesus is faithful to speak to us about how to proceed in every area of our lives. God’s Word  reminds us that we can hear the voice of the true Shepherd: “Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, ’This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:21 NLT). Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He made sure His disciples would not be left stranded. Jesus said to them, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you” (John 14:15-17 NASB).

When we hear the inside voice of the Spirit of Truth speak to our heart, we are to follow because we know Him. Sheep who follow the true Shepherd won’t be led astray. I have a long-time dear friend who phones and greets me by saying her full name. Since I’m very   familiar with her voice, she doesn’t need to identify herself. When I once mentioned this to her, we had a good laugh. It was just a habit for her to say her full name whenever she  called anyone.

The Key: I’ll be somewhere listenin’ for my name; and then I will follow Him wherever He may lead.

“Be Kind.”  Walk into almost any school, and you will see that reminder hanging on walls or recited in assemblies. For most of us aged ones, we were raised to be nice to others.  Now, because of bullying and the attacks on social media, the “Be Kind” message somehow has skipped much of this younger generation.  Parents, take note.

Yesterday, I, as usual, looked for the shortest line in the grocery store.  There wasn’t one.  The self-checkout lines dragged down the aisles, so I opted for the regular line.  The man in front of me told me go ahead of him since he had a full basket and was waiting for his wife who was in the bathroom, and I had only two items. I thanked him and, being kind myself, said that we should wait and see if she returned before he got to the cashier.  Then I noticed a clearing in the self-checkout row. My lucky day!

I left my line and walked a few yards to jump in that line.  My unlucky day.  The “clearing” was just a space left for regular shoppers to get through. The actual line, extending down the entire aisle, was longer than ever.  I returned to my place behind the kind man…at the same time a woman jumped ahead of me and signaled for her teenage son to bring their loaded cart from another aisle.

Referring to me, the son said to his mother, “Mom, she only has two things.  Let her go in front of us.”  Without looking at me, she answered, “She can go to the self-check line if she’s in a hurry.” The modeling done by that parent was distressing, and for a few seconds, I thought of saying that to the mean mom.  But God allowed for a different outcome.

The wife of the man in front of Mean Mom returned with their son, but instead of loading his groceries on the roller belt, he turned to me, speaking over Mean Mom and her son.  “You go ahead of us.  You were here first.”  (Which, technically, I was… until, that is, I wasn’t.)

“You are so kind,” I answered, moving ahead of his family. “Thank you so much” (which I repeated louder than I probably needed to after paying for my two bottles of salad dressing).

Why is it so many people are so self-absorbed that they ignore opportunities to help?  We know that doesn’t need to be the case.  Take my granddaughter, Mo, for example, who was driving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on her way to Wyoming.  With blizzard conditions late at night, she opted to drive slowly behind a semi-truck ahead of her, until, that is, a moose side-swiped her car.  When she pulled onto the shoulder of the road, she became stuck in the snow.

Soon, Mo saw a woman (who had pulled over ahead of her) running back to see if she was okay.  Then, two truckloads of Spanish-speaking men pulled in behind her.  When their trucks couldn’t pull her out, they crawled under her car to scoop out the snow.  A man hauling a trailer tried to tow her out, and even a cement truck driver came to her aid.  Nothing worked, but it was sacrificial Kindness in action. Fortunately, her uncle and his wife live only an hour away and were able to come to her aid.

Galatians 5:22 lists the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  As 2025 gets underway, perhaps we all can make that our New Year’s goal.                                                                                                                                                          Yes, I think that should win out over Mean Mom’s way, everyday.