RECOGNIZING GATEKEEPERS

John 10:2-3 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

A question arose as I read today’s Gospel text and that was ‘if the sheep indeed know the shepherd, why is there a gatekeeper to the sheep?

Whenever a president makes a ministerial or judicial appointment, that individual has to through a vetting process, often facilitated by an independent committee, that is gatekeeping. Hence, gatekeeping can simply be explained as a way of filtering and managing access to information, systems, things or people. We may see it as bureaucracy, but it is rather a quality control measure.

It is a feature consistent across many spheres, whether in the form of electronic technologies, physical barriers or people at post. In life therefore, each of us at some point will come face to face with many gatekeepers. Their assignment is not to be an obstacle to your advancement, but to probe and verify if indeed we quality to participate in the corridors into which we desire access.

Beloved, you will lose in a fight against gatekeepers because they do not exist as obstacles, they are quality control systems. Once you meet the predefined criteria, you will be granted access.

#sly