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.)
Let us consider one more thought from Mark 10:17-27. We see how close this rich young ruler came to eternal life. He was interested enough in Jesus to seek Him out (verse 17a) and was respectful (calling Him “Good Master” – verse 17 and “Master” – verse 20), even reverent (he “kneeled” before Jesus – verse 17). He continued to listen to Jesus’ line of reasoning and did not dispute His authority, as other religious leaders usually did. Yet, he “went away grieved” (verse 22), but his sorrow was not sufficient for him to repent and follow Jesus: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (II Corinthians 7:10). Wealth – both the pursuit of it and the temporal security that it provides – is just one thing that can prevent a person from trusting in Jesus for salvation. Guilt is another barrier; it is easy to think, “I am too bad to be saved.” Satan will use such feelings of unworthiness to discourage people from receiving God’s grace. Fear is another obstacle – fear of what family and friends might think, say, and do; or fear of commitment (“take up the cross” -verse 21); or fear of missing out on worldly fun. Perhaps there are as many impediments to faith as there are people who reject Jesus, including different combinations and permutations. Given all of these negative possibilities, it is indeed a miracle that anyone is saved. If you are a Christian, you are a miracle, an eternal miracle. If you are not a Christian, you can become one right now by trusting in Jesus – and then you too will be an everlasting miracle.