Investigating the Bible: All that is grand

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is recognized as the longest word in the English language. It became a popular song in the 1964 film, “Mary Poppins.” The word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, has a slightly different spelling, “flawjal” mid-word, instead of “fragil.” It represents “... all that is grand, great, glorious, splendid, superb, wonderful.” That rich meaning helps understand a verse from John’s gospel.

Jesus sometimes taught with stories about sheep. He was the Good Shepherd, caring for sheep (believers) when he said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture... I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:9-10, English Standard Version used throught). The Shepherd is the door to a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious life! How can believers experience this life? The passage in John’s gospel describes three ways.

Listen for the voice of the Shepherd. “...The sheep hear his voice, and he calls them by name...” (John 10:3). These days there is a cacophony of voices. The Old Testament says listen to God. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)

Follow the Shepherd. A sheepfold was a high-walled enclosure with a guarded wooden door where sheep were safe from attacks by predators or theft. “[H]e who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:2-3).

Gary Richmond was a troubled teen. During his 16th year, he watched his father die of a heart attack in his mother’s arms. His mother descended into alcoholism. Gary escaped by getting drunk and having fun. His older brother’s girlfriend invited him to her church only because whoever brought the most new people won a television. The preacher seemed to know he was in the crowd, saying, “Someone needs the kind of direction a father could give.” Later that evening, Gary prayed: “God, I hope you’re out there somewhere. I think you are. If that guy was giving the straight scoop tonight, you want me to ask forgiveness of my sins and ask you to come in and take my life and clean it up...Please come into my life. Amen.” He continued following and became a Christian author and a minister in a large church.

Trust the Shepherd: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture... and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:9,15). Jesus gave great news for Gentiles, when he said, “...I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also.” (John 10:16).

Abundance in America is not the abundance of the New Testament. The former is material and the latter is spiritual. The apostle Paul used “abundance” to acknowledge that life includes difficulties. “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:5).

In the 1800s, wealthy businessman Horatio Spafford wrote the beloved hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” The occasion of his writing was tragic. His wife and four daughters were crossing the Atlantic when their ship collided with another, killing his daughters and many others. As he crossed the ocean to join his grieving wife, the captain showed him the spot where the accident occurred. That evening, God comforted his soul, and Spafford wrote: “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, You have taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.”

David Carlson Pastor (yes, that is his last name, not his profession) lives in Oregon and is a graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary in Minnesota.