The Grip of God

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.

John 10:27-30

Jesus says, “My people hear me and understand me. As a result, they know me. I know them in the same way. Because of this relationship we have, my people follow and obey me.”

In Jesus, the Christian finds salvation and eternal life, a life that can’t be taken from him. No person or thing can take away the life you have in Jesus. Jesus said that no one can snatch (“forcefully take”) you, the Christian, from his hand (v.28), and nothing can take you from God’s hand either (v.29).

Jesus is saying that His hands and God’s hands are the one and the same (v.30). They both hold on and never let go. That’s life insurance!

There’s two views of the Christian’s experience with God: one is that we hold onto God and the other is that He holds onto us. The second option is the Biblical one.

God holds onto YOU. Think of a father and child coming near a dangerous intersection in a busy city. If contact is lost between father and child, the child, in his own ignorance and foolishness, may run into the street and die.

The father does NOT say to the child, “Won’t you please hold my hand? It’s very dangerous, and something bad may happen if you don’t. Ultimately, however, it’s your choice and I don’t want to infringe on your free will.”

No good father would treat a son like that. A father’s love for his son would cause him to do EVERYTHING possible to protect his child.

A good father, OUR Good Father, will grab his child’s arm and hold onto him no matter what. It doesn’t matter if the child screams, kicks, or rebels, the father will still hold tightly to his child, knowing it’s the only way to keep him safe from certain death.

The child can’t lose his life because his father won’t let him. The father protects his child from his own foolish ignorance.

THAT’S the strength of OUR Father’s grip…HE holds onto US because He loves us!

That’s the love the Father has for his children.