December 17
John 10: 28: And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand.
Each time we step out into the cold morning
we see the entirety of our life as the vapor appears from our heated breath
then vanishes in an instant. We are that
last brown leaf shivering on the branch within one sharp gust of joining our
fallen friends on the frozen ground below. Unable to purchase life, unable to stop time, unable
to rise above this dying dust, but we have a great Shepherd who says, “I give
unto them eternal life.” What vibrant colors
to wash out every grey page of bad news this world has to report!
“I give”, Christ says. How thankful we are
this is a gift because the gifts of God shall never be taken back. (Rom 11: 29) Let the clock tick, let the sands pour
through the hour glass. Time-life must bow to “Eternal life!” When our teary eyes look upon our withered
skin, remember the Redeemer’s promise, “And they shall never perish!” What trouble?
Does it matter what trouble? The
sovereign Savior says, “Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.” Any is a mighty broad word. Trial, distress, persecution, famine,
nakedness, peril, sword, things seen or unseen, things present or things to
come, angels, principalities or powers, in the heights or in the depths, life
or death—“neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.” (Rom 8: 35-39) What about that hand? It is the
same hand that measured the waters in its hollow and spread out heaven with the
span of his fingers; it is the hand that weighed the dust and the mountains and
the hills. (Is 40: 11-12) Better still it is the hand of him who says, “Behold,
I have graven thee upon the palms of my
hands.” (Is 49: 16) This is the hand of him who bought his people with his own
blood!
Christ Jesus has all authority and right as
King of kings and Lord of lords, as the risen Redeemer, as the great Shepherd
of his sheep, as God our Savior to declare with unwavering, everlasting certainty,
“I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
pluck them out of my hand.” This temporary
life of sorrow, sin and sickness will not even be a memory when we are in the
bliss of eternal life with him.