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.)
The ethereal aria of Revelation 15:3-4 rightly directs our attention to our Lord: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thy name? For Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.’” The description of the “Lord God Almighty” as “just” is necessary, for a common criticism of God is that He is unfair. The modern question is something like the following: “Is God fair to welcome some into heaven but deny others?” Yes, Jesus is fair indeed. Because He is holy and we are decidedly not, there are only two options available: He could judge everyone (that is, deny access to heaven to everyone) or offer salvation to everyone. He graciously chose the second alternative. There is no third option of saving everyone, for He will not force Himself upon us and turn us into automatons. We must never forget that Jesus made eternal provision for all – He gave Himself! – and persistently reaches out to all, seeking to draw each one to Himself. Because we are created in God’s image, we also must make a decision: trust in Him, or continue to reject Him. May we ponder the choice that He has made to offer salvation to all rather than judge all, and may we choose to run into His everlasting embrace.