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.)
Yesterday, we considered how Jesus as our “Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6) disciplines His spiritual children with needed reproof and correction. He does this so that we can live disciplined lives that are fruitful and satisfying. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus contrasts the narrow way with the broad way “that leadeth to destruction.” To many, “narrow” sounds negative, but we should understand that it is the freedom to do the right things, the best things. The wide way is slavery to bad things. Do we want to be free to do good, or do we want to be in thralldom to evil? Verse 20 states, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” In areas of life such as education, work, and athletics, we recognize the value of a disciplined approach. Likewise, in our spiritual lives, which encompasses all parts of our lives, we need to use our freedom in Christ to choose the good, disciplined way.