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.)
Jesus is our sanctuary, a “hiding place” (Isaiah 32:2) in a world of wickedness. It is His desire to give us His abiding serenity: “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). He grants us this peace and calmness to help us; He also wants us to become, if I may with reverence put it this way, little sanctuaries. I don’t remember who wrote that what we need in life is to be “somewhere safe with someone good.” It is always true with Jesus that we are secure and safe, for He is ever good. It is also true that we can increasingly become like Him; for example, II Peter 3:18a says, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” I know that certain people provided sanctuary to me when I was growing up. Anything that I did with my father, including work, filled me with peace. The same was true of my Grandmother Jepson, who lived across the field and enfolded me with quiet acceptance whenever I was with her. Each one of us can be that smaller sanctuary to others. In our current cruel culture, may we provide calm and comfort to those closest to us.