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.)
As we studied yesterday, I Peter speaks hope to suffering Christians. Jesus gives us this hope because He loves us and wants to help us. I Peter 1:13 commands, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This verse is particularly helpful in that it clarifies that Biblical hope is far more than happy, optimistic thoughts. We are to be disciplined in our thinking (“gird up the loins of your mind” – what an effective and evocative figure of speech!) and in our behavior (“be sober”). We do not ignore the hard realities of life; rather, we deal with them differently. We can continue to “hope to the end” because our God gives (“grace”) and because our Savior is returning for us (“the revelation of Jesus Christ”). We are realists: hard things, including persecution, are real; but so are the good things that God gives – and these things are eternal. Our “hope to the end” will bring us finally to the end of all that is negative and nasty; our “hope to the end” will end up with the fulfillment of hope.