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.)
Revelation 21:5 provides this absolute statement from our Lord: “And He [Who] sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said unto me [John], ‘Write: for these words are true and faithful’” This newness includes a new home (verses 1-2); a new, face-to-face relationship with God (verses 3-4); new music (Revelation 5:9; 14:3); and a new spiritual reality – the absence of a sin nature (I Corinthians 15:51-52). We will also have a new appreciation of the things of God. Already we see life differently: “we have the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16). However, our current sin nature clouds the clarity of our insight, and we must be constantly alert to our daily need to be “transformed by the renewing of [the] mind” (Romans 12:2). In eternity, without the sin nature, we will see clearly and will enter into a fullness of gratitude. This transformation of our perspective will lead us to a higher level of appreciation of the eternal goodness of God. A simple application for us is to get started now on being more aware of God’s blessings and more grateful for each one of them.