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.)
Mark 12:17 speaks of both our national and eternal citizenship: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” These words of Jesus are encouraging and challenging. Yesterday, we saw that our heavenly citizenship is easier than our earthly citizenship in some ways. It is, though, harder in at least a couple of key ways. First, this citizenship places us on the “narrow” path even now (Matthew 7:14). This is the good, guarded way and is for our benefit and best. However, it does require daily decisions and discipline. Practical, experiential sanctification demands real effort. Second, our heavenly citizenship encompasses all areas of life, for our Savior God cares about everything about us. He is concerned, for example, about our thought lives. His solicitude is not tyrannical; He wants our thoughts to move in the right direction: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). All that Jesus commands is purely positive, of course, but His commandments cover all of life. This absolutism is different from what we are used to. Thus, our current citizenship in heaven is challenging but most definitely worthwhile.