Jesus calls His sheep by name and they recognize His voice. Our Shepherd names us. Whenever we hear the Great Shepherd call our name we intuitively know that it is God calling. The Great Shepherd knows our names and longs for a personal heart-bond. Being like Jesus means that we build relationships with real persons. If we love them like He loves us, then they might just hear the Great Shepherd calling their names through the way we speak their name; relational evangelism lays the ground work for discipleship that other methods cannot.
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 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.” (John 10:3–5 NLT)
(From “Sonlight for the Soul”, by H. Lamar Smith)
