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 beauty of Jesus – His absolute attractiveness – is clearly evident in His universal offer of salvation. Revelation 14:6-8 provides details of Jesus’ reaching out to everyone, to “them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (verse 6b). This specific call is a continuation of what Jesus has always done. Hebrews 10:10, for example, speaks of “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” II Corinthians 5:14 states that “One died for all.” One thoughtful scholar characterized modern culture as a “persistent denial of grace.” How true! Many just turn their backs on God’s grace and walk blithely away. We are tempted to turn our backs on people like that and walk away. However, we cannot, for Jesus does not. He persists in offering grace. I think often of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. His last-minute salvation is recorded in Luke 23:39-43 and is a compelling reminder of the beauty of Jesus in making salvation available and readily accessible to all. Truly, our Savior is beautiful.