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.)
John 1:1-5 tells us that Jesus made “all things” (verse 3), including light. As the “light of men” (verse 4), He provides a complete contrast with darkness. There is nothing evil about physical darkness, for it is also part of God’s creation (Genesis 1:5 – “And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day”). However, we recognize that a world of darkness would be a dead one, for no energy would be available. The interplay of light and darkness is fascinating. I think of the artist Thomas Kinkaid, who used light in his paintings to create warm, inviting places. He was ridiculed by the postmodernist intelligentsia, who felt that art should be dark, brooding, and shocking. Personally, I do not need to be shocked by art in any form, for man’s sin is shocking enough for me. Art critics would probably call me a philistine (the irony of their use of a term derived from the godless Philistines is lost on them), but I choose to appreciate the “light of men”, Jesus Christ. I know that you do, as well.