Enter Through the Gate

John 10:1-2 (NIV) - “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep."

There are diverse opinions as to what the "gate" in John 10:1-2 represents. IMO Jesus is warning against selling the gospel by making an appeal to people's emotions. Evangelists do this all the time, and they are widely applauded for this ability. I'm sure that Jesus also had the ability to stir up a crowd to an emotional high. But Jesus never never never made an emotional appeal when He preached! He simply stated the facts and concluded with something like,

"He who has ears, let him hear."

An emotional appeal is a "back door" approach that "climbs over the wall." It bypasses the intellect and appeals to the subconscious mind. The "back door" approach works well for most people. Psychologists have shown that when it comes to influencing people and shaping opinions, emotion trumps truth and logic every time. This response is driven by the amygdala, the emotional processing center of our subconscious mind. There is an entire modern science devoted to the use of emotional manipulation for propaganda, marketing, social engineering, and political campaigns. It is surprisingly easy to manipulate people once you know how it's done.

Jesus won't climb over the fence. He won't attempt to enter your life through the back door. He gave us free will, and He is not going to violate our free will by using emotional manipulation. He comes through the gate of the sheepfold, appealing to our intellect rather than to our emotions. This gives people the opportunity to make an informed free-will committment. Jesus is looking for people who will say "Yes" to Him without any pressure or manipulation.

I had a lot of questions when my spouse walked out of our marriage. I was still in love. But my spouse was not. I was unable to understand the reason for her change of heart until the Lord explained,

"If all you do is fall in love, it's only a matter of time before you fall out of love."

Whether it's with your spouse or with God, emotions are a poor foundation for any relationship because they can change like the weather. And they are not entirely under our control. The great danger of an emotional gospel pitch is that it may give someone a false assurance of salvation, when all they really have is an emotional experience. That's why our important relationships and our salvation need to be based on committment. Is that is why Jesus avoided emotional appeals? You decide.

My Sunday School room is a cross between a hands-on science center and Christmas. It's full of fun activities, colored lights, audiovisual materials, and fascinating toys. This stokes the "feel-good" emotions of our happy children. I think that this is an appropriate and necessary thing to do for this age group. But we don't stop there. The "fun" is the "setup." Then we take time to open our Bibles, engage our minds, and give Jesus an opportunity to enter through the gate.