I was contacted by an acquaintance from my past yesterday.

A fellow I’d not heard from for 27 years sent me an email. In a brief exchange with him I realized that while he had experienced some change in his life, I had radically transformed. I knew his vocabulary but he didn’t know mine.

I experienced a sadness that surprised me. Once a rising star in his field, he was now a so-so and definitely not rising; yet, he was still chasing the illusion. He was completely unaware that his dream was, and had always been, an illusion, a falsity that masqueraded as a lofty goal.

Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. — Jesus