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 20:11 begins the final judgment of rebellious mankind: “And I saw a great white throne, and Him [Who] sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” This is “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29). This judgment is not to be confused with that of I Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that which he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” The Bible makes it clear that this bema seat judgment is for the purpose of dispensing “reward” (I Corinthians 3:14) to Christians, for our Savior God is so good that He desires to bless us for doing what we should be doing. However, if people reject the goodness of God, the inevitable result is a future appearance before the “great white throne” of God. The finality of this justice is profoundly sobering and should cause all to run into the everlasting embrace of God the Son, Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins and offers complete forgiveness and eternal life to anyone who wants Him and His blessings. I think of the perspicacious words of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, / The saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’” Let us call upon Jesus now for His salvation, for “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2b).