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.)
We continue today to marvel that Jesus does not groan at us but instead groans with us. Romans 8:23-25 directly addresses the difficult subject of the inherent tension in the Christian life. Verse 23 tells us that we have “the firstfruits of the Spirit” but still “groan within ourselves.” Because God the Holy Spirit indwells each believer, we have a sense of what life could be … and should be. Yet, we live in a fallen world with its troubles, trials, and tribulations. Jesus, groaning along with us, provides real help to this dilemna through “hope” (verses 23-24). Biblical hope point us to the trustworthy character of God and to the certain fulfillment of all of His promises. Thus, we know that what awaits each believer is definitely worth waiting for. As Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:2, 4-5, “For in this [body] we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven … For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, Who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” Just as the whole creation will be redeemed (Romans 8:23), so will those whose faith is in Jesus Christ. Like Paul, then, “we are always confident” (II Corinthians 5:6), even as we sometimes struggle.