To See Beyond

March 12

Jesus’ words in John 10:27-30 convey a substantial level of doctrinal truth.

He says, “My sheep listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life and they will never die; no one can steal them out of My hand, for My Father gave My sheep to Me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal My sheep out of My Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

If a person had no more of scripture than these few verses, he could establish his faith on the solid rock of Jesus and His eternal truth.

Add to this Romans 8:38, 39, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” and the battery of evidence of the worthiness of the plan of salvation becomes even more profound upon each of our lives.

What will we do with this actuality? What will we do with these words that compel us from our vain lifestyle of pleasurable pursuits and short-term achievements to an investment of the entirety of our person-hood into endeavors that further the eternal longing of the heart of God that “all men might be saved”? I Timothy 2:4.

If our answer is anything but, “Here am I, Lord, send me,” Isaiah 6:8, then we have fallen far short of the destiny our Father and our God desires us to have.
Unless we can say with Paul, “I count all things but dung for the sake of the precious knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord,” Philippians 3:8, then we are short-changing ourselves in the only eternal area of our lives.

Lord Jesus, help us to see beyond this Vale of Tears and its temporary allurements, beyond “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world,” I John 2:16, and help us to fix our gaze on You, “the Author and Finisher of our faith,” Hebrews 12:2.