Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In a tiresome and tiring world, it is welcome relief to know that Jesus does not exhaust us. Matthew 11:28-29 records a gracious invitation from Jesus: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Yes, Jesus offers us rest – His rest. The word “rest” in the Greek of the original New Testament has an encouraging range of meanings. One that is obvious in the immediate context is a cessation from labor. Since this pertains to spiritual matters (“rest unto your souls”), we should joy in the fact that we can cease from all efforts in trying to earn our salvation. Jesus offers us both salvation and the resulting rest that comes from the certainty that this salvation is full, free, and forever. He does not add to our weariness. Rather, He assures us that, as an old hymn says, “It is well” with our souls if our faith is placed in Him.