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.)
After the parable of the lamp (Mark 4:21-23), Jesus adds this teaching point: “And He said unto them, ‘Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath’” (verses 24-25). Jesus is stating an eternal verity: if we do not respond to His light, if we do not respect His words, then we will lose everything forever. If, instead, we walk in His light and heed His words, we will be granted even further insights and opportunities. It is wise to remember that there is a time when the lamp of this life will be extinguished. When I was a boy, each evening I would look up across the field to my grandmother’s farmhouse. In a couple of windows in the room where she spent most of her time at night, the mellow glow of her kerosene lamp assured me that all was well. When she died in 1975, that farm after sunset became the darkest place on earth to me. I take comfort in the certainty of my grandmother’s faith in Christ: the physical light ended but not the spiritual. Since “the darkness is past, and the True Light now shineth” (I John 2:8b), let us make every effort to live in the loving light of our Lord.