59 For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flockdoth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him.
60 And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.
I read this and had some thoughts about Christ and His role in the Plan of Salvation. At first I was confused. It sounded like Christ was okay with the wolves coming to get us and He wasn't going to do anything about it. I think when I read about Him being a shepherd - I think about how he cares for us. He protects and nurtures us. He loves us and wants to take care of us. I was a little taken aback when I read that he'll just let the wolves come and get us. I did some thinking about that and realized that agency plays a role in what is being said. We are commanded to not let the wolf enter. We are the ones that make the choice. We are being told that if we choose to let the wolf come in we will be destroyed. We are told about wolves and what they do in the previous verse. It's the simple reasoning of 'if and then'. Our choices have consequences. If there is evil that we need to keep out of our lives and we invite it in. The consequences have to come. I know if we ask him for help, he will give it to us. But, I also know that the plan of salvation has to work on us making choices. If it didn't rely on that - there wouldn't be a need for an atonement. I think this verse threw me off for a minute because I'm used to thinking of our Heavenly Parents as those who have expectations and have let us know that there will be consequences. I think of Christ more as someone who is willing to help and will do what he can whenever we need him. His atonement made it so we could repent and be better and he's willing to help us with that process. But first, he has to let us choose what part of the process we're going to be a part of in our own lives. He can't decide for us.
