March 11, 2013 (Monday)
“”No one ever spoke the way this man does”–John 7:46 (NIV)
Jesus taught with illustrations. He would say, “It’s like..”
He said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who finds a very valuable pearl for sale. He realizes its value and so sells everything he has to get enough money to buy it. In so doing he becomes fabulously wealthy. The lesson is clear: being saved spiritually is worth whatever it may cost you.
On another occasion he said, “He that hears my word and does them is like a man who built his house upon a rock.” The foundation of that house was then so secure that no wind or flood could dislodge his house. Of course, he was really talking about a life built upon faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.
In Luke 15, Jesus gave three illustrations about the value of a human soul to God. The illustrations were about a coin, a sheep and a young man.
He told of a woman who lost a coin in her house. She frantically searched until she found it. Then she called her friends to her home to say, “Rejoice with me! I have found that which I lost.”
He went on to speak of a shepherd who had a hundred sheep, one of which wandered away. The shepherd braved the mountain heights and vicious storms seeking the one lost sheep until he found it. He, too, wanted others to rejoice with him. The clear lesson from our Lord is, “God loves you this much. You are special.”
Finally, he told about a young man who requested his inheritance, took it to a far country and wasted it with sinful deeds. Realizing he had nothing, he returned home and pleaded for acceptance as a household servant. His father welcomed him home, saying, “Rejoice with me! My son is back home. He was lost, and now he is found.”
These words of Jesus are just as true, powerful and meaningful as they were when he
spoke them long ago. God’s love for you is still the same. His power to save you is just as strong. The Love of Jesus for you never changes.