Jesus Was, Is, and Will Always Be Enough!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Today is New Years’ Eve 2022. This is a time to look back in the past, to see where we are now and to look ahead. One of the most significant things He has changed for me in becoming a Christian, is that through Him, I can see my past, present and future through different eyes.  

To illustrate, my granddaughter visited Colleen and me in Florida in early December with her boyfriend, Ethan. We had a wonderful time together. She showed me some “magic” glasses they had picked up somewhere here.  When you wore them and looked at a Christmas tree for example, every light on the tree was surrounded by an outline of Santa Claus. Those little rays of light now displayed a “person,” in this case the mythical Santa Claus.

As I look at my past, now (70 years old only two years away, what the Bible says that is our “baseline life expectancy,” 80 if you’re lucky!) Without Jesus Christ surrounding us in these fleeting years, our past, present, and future lacks lasting peace, joy and hope.

What about those times of past wanderings that we now regret? We can take comfort that it is often dissatisfaction with ourselves that God used to lead us to the narrow road so we would seek and then find our satisfaction in Him alone. As my favorite devotional author, Chris Tiegreen, writes, “Measure greatness not by status, but by dependence upon the One who is greater than all others.” By turning these wanderings into a greater desire to move closer to the heart of our Shepherd they have been teaching us the humility that becomes the path to true Kingdom greatness.

What if our present circumstances are difficult right now? “By affliction He teaches us many priceless lessons, which otherwise we could never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world and makes us long for heaven.”-R.C. Sproule

And what about that so scary “future” the time before we are safely in our heavenly home? Though we have this ultimate sure hope, we as Christians have an added stress of being like fish struggling to swim against a speeding up current of evil.  Today, perversions are glorified, sin’s consequences are nullified and the truths of the word of God are vilified. We identify with Lot in Sodom who “was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.” (2 Peter 2:8 NLT)

But the Lord will show us how to walk through these dark days and shine His light through us, working like my granddaughter’s Santa glasses did. Yes, many will continue to turn away from Christ.  But many more are yet to be drawn towards Him. And as they do, they will need to see HIS image displayed through US, “Jesus with skin on.” They will need us to be fully awake (not “woke”) to help them become rooted in a simple devotion to Him as we are ourselves are.  Are you ready to shine in 2023?

 “Lord Jesus, awaken us from our slumber, shine your Light through us, let those You are drawing to Yourself see You not ourselves, and then let us with them see all things through Your eyes!”