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.)
Jesus calls us His friends (John 15:15) and demonstrates what real friendship is (John 15:13). We all know that a good relationship must be reciprocal. Of course, we cannot sacrifice ourselves the way Jesus did on the Cross, “for this He did once when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). However, we can value our relationship with Jesus and live accordingly. I think of Peter’s failure in John 18:15-18. Jesus had been arrested, and Peter followed at a distance and “warmed himself” alongside the decidedly unfriendly “servants and officers” there (verse 18). Temporarily, Peter chose the comfortable companionship of evil people, and he continued by that fire (verse 25). He learned firsthand that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). Peter’s failure was forgiven, and he was brought back into close fellowship with Jesus (John 21:15-17). Imagine, though, the emotional pain that Peter endured until the relationship was restored. During that terrible time of estrangement, Peter was distraught and distracted. Later, his decades of faithful service to the cause of Christ showed that he had learned to value his relationship with Jesus above all else. May we do the same.