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.)
There is always someone looking to criticize: “And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto Him, ‘Why do the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Thy disciples fast not?’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days’” (Mark 2:18-20). There is much to consider from this passage, but today’s thought is quite simple. We have a basic choice in the matter of criticism of others. We can look for things to critique; if we have the attitude of looking, we will surely find issues. Of course, others can do the same to us. Another option is to refrain from such a critical spirit. Matters of principle cannot be overlooked, but matters of personal preference must not gain a place of prominence in our lives. As a practical point, we should recognize that our information about others is often limited. Let each one of us determine not to be that someone looking to criticize.