By Christopher Dryden
You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
John 5:39-40 NLT
What are you looking for? For centuries they searched for Him. They’d been given the map with the directions. They’d been told the treasure was the greatest. They were eager to get the treasure, they were excited to see where the directions took them. Only for them to miss the prize right in front of them.
Among many wonderful and glorious truths, one of them is that when you place your faith in Jesus you have access to eternal life. This is not just about the length of life. This is about the quality of life. This is the life that liberates you from the shackles of misery and pain and the oppressive reach of sin. This is the life that enables you to truly enjoy the good, perfect, and acceptable will of the Creator. This is the life that defeats depression, disease, and death in the amazing abundance of shalom. This is the life.
This is the life only found in Jesus Christ. The map led to Him. Those that heard Him make these assertions when He walked the earth, were not convinced, indeed they were repulsed. They rejected Him because their frame couldn’t handle who Jesus was. They refused Him because He operated in an authority that exposed their powerlessness, unfairness, and inadequacy. They refused Him because His presence declared that they could not find life just by ticking the boxes of religiosity. Their refusal led to their ultimate rejection of Him in plotting to kill Him. Even that plot, though, played right into the hands of the will of the One who sent the Son. For though they killed Him, His life conquered death itself.
And there’s more! To point to the victory at the cross and the triumph of the resurrection is to be invited all over again to take hold of the map. To consider again how the Father reveals who He is through the Son. To hear the good news and see how we respond in repentance and faith in the Son to the glory of the Father. To see what manner of love the Father gives to those who look to the Son and partake in the abundant, eternal life found in Him.
This devotional series is here to refresh those who have responded to the invitation. A refresher on what it is to receive life. How we receive it by approaching the Son and considering His Mission, His death, His resurrection, His rule, and His promised return. It’s here as an invitation to those who are seeking the life that matters, to discover it in Jesus – not to miss Him for the less important, trifling matters that only lead to disputes and disappointment. Not to miss out on what it means to know where life is found.
Ask: Why did people refuse to go to Jesus to receive eternal life?
Seek: What does it look like daily for you to receive eternal life in Jesus Christ?
Knock: Review how you’ve come to know Jesus and consider the ways you can encourage others to approach Jesus to have eternal life.
(Upper Photo by Vaishakh pillai on Unsplash)
(Inner Photo by Sean Oulashin on Unsplash)
