That’s My Dawg!

Back in the day I had a nickname; K-Dawg!

How it happened I don’t know. But all through high school and on into my college years there was a small circle of people who used this nickname to get my attention.

It really became a name of association. Affection. Endearment. Reserved for a special breed of people. Not just anyone called me by this name. And people outside this circle who tried calling me by this name sometimes received funny stares. I just didn’t make the connection between their voice and my name.

Those same fellas that called me K-Dawg also had names attached to them as well. That’s what happens when you become close. You forge a bond with one another that goes beyond a name found on a class roster at school. It becomes this new identity that’s shared with a special group of people.

You’re in the trenches of some activity. You battle together. Share meals together. The grit of life’s struggles has a way of connecting us to each other in a way that’s unfamiliar to the rest of the world. And the greeting of that name in the middle of war will mean more us than any other name ever will. That name reminds us they’re on our side.

Here I am years later and there are people who can walk into a room and say that name and without hesitation I can identify the voice and immediately attach a memorable experience I’ve shared with them from years gone by.

There’s another voice that speaks a name that creates an inseparable bond. A close connection. Full of affection. It’s the voice of a Shepherd. Not just any shepherd. A Good Shepherd.

Remember when Jesus was coming on the scene? He began rounding up His disciples from all different walks of life. Some fishermen. A tax collector. A Zealot. An eventual thief and traitor.

Jesus went to round up a couple of guys in Galilee. When Philip spoke of Jesus, Nathanael asked, “what good thing can come from Nazareth?”

One time Jesus and the disciples had been on the road for a while. And they had gathered quite the following. When the multitudes became hungry, Philip questioned, “where can we find enough bread to feed all these people?”

Not long after the crowds had been fed Jesus sent them away and put His disciples on a boat to head across the water to the other side. During their journey they met a storm and Jesus came walking on water to calm the storm and their fears. As He made His way toward the disciples’ boat in the middle of the sea, Peter requested, “Lord, bid me come to you.”

After His resurrection Jesus met with His disciples who had gathered in a room for their safety. However, Thomas wasn’t there. Later Thomas asserted, “unless I see the nail marks…I will not believe.”

This group of men who eventually would spend three years with Jesus questioned His pedigree, questioned His authority, questioned His leadership, questioned His ability to be raised from the dead.

But Jesus never abandoned them nor condemned them. Did He critique their misunderstandings? Did He point out their faults and lack of faith? Did He adjust their thinking? Yes. But He never left them to figure this life out alone. He led them, He taught them, He modeled for them the meaning and purpose of this life; to glorify their Father.

This was a special breed of guys. Some of these guys had a name change like Cephas to Peter. Two of the brothers were known as ‘Sons of Thunder.’ Peter, James, and John had a dynamic association with Jesus.

And here’s a fascinating way that Jesus shared with His followers how they were connected to His leadership, “The sheep hear his voice and he calls them by name and leads them. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. And I have other sheep that not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice” (John 10:3-4,14,16).

There’s something special about a name and a voice that allows us to be associated with something, Someone, greater than ourselves. He has placed on us a special name. An identity that transcends all we can think or imagine. We can hear His voice and be led through life trusting that He will be with us. He is our good Shepherd.