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 21:11b describes our heavenly home – “the holy city” (verse 2) – in glowing terms: “Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” John’s use of the comparative word “like” reminds us that the Apostle was observing things that he had never seen before and that he had no specific words to use in describing them. I know very little about “precious” stones; obviously, John knew more than I do. However, a “jasper stone” is not “clear as crystal.” it is an opaque type of quartz and comes in a variety of colors, including red, brown, and yellow. (I had to look up this information.) This mixing of metaphors is John’s limited attempt to depict the unlimited beauty of the heavenly city. Because our God is both infinite and beautiful (always attracting us – see John 6:44), it is logical that He is infinitely beautiful. Heaven will be an ongoing evocation: we will never become bored or even slightly blasé. Rather, the newness of God (verse 5) will continue to awe us throughout eternity.