Jesus said, “Don’t imagine that I’ve come to abolish the Law or the Prophetic Writings; I haven’t come to abolish them, but to fulfil them.”- Matthew 5:17-18a (USC)
HOPE is obviously a ‘seeming condition’ in this life, or a ‘quiet comfort’. And presently hope is our unrelenting focus.
But our times are troubled and in despair, always have been and always will be.
The centre of our lives – our very lives – these three words of Revelation speak about – is our brokenness, boldly facing the truth. These are the issues of life that we struggle to accept. We struggle to accept our reality – to be honest. We struggle to accept others’ realities as well; as honest.
But our humanity cannot be dismissed or trashed because we have our own struggles and heartbreaks to deal with.
God has stood in the gap, through the faithfully reproducing of the holy seed of his Word ever since the cross, and he has reached into us and accepted us – this is what the Lord means when he says, “I’ve accepted you as yours, child.”
Many of the Ephesians had to experience this truth of God’s acceptance before it would sink in – to the Corinthians at least – and they would experience this acceptance in the same way as Jesus had received his. Only when they believed these new realities – these new sons – had God changed their hearts.
But God prepared them in the first place to receive this truth.
The presentation of the Gospel plan of salvation – the good news that the Lord had died for and was now alive – was made accessible to all because of the miraculous birth of the Messiah. But a miracle was required.
And the Lord spoke.
Immediately he was led to the tomb. He removed the stone. He showed the Father. He unacked the chest. And then he returned to the disciples who had broken the bread when they saw what Jesus was doing.
He is risen. He has keys to the gates of eternity.
What was that all about?
He explained it all to them.
Do read the recorded meeting in John Chapter 20 in the New Testament. There are times when Jesus Christ makes such a stunning intervention, and it can happen in the middle of a vision. Remember that, because this is really what is known as the Last Shift, which is a shift in the dimension of the fig tree.
The crucial thing for us is, He broke this bread and he gave it to us. Why? What does this mean or signify? For the living Christ that means, “I have taken your penalty and will pay it.”
The Master can forgive. He can wipe out shame. He can expose all that is false, or has no blessing, and He can wash clean all those streams that flow out of our hearts. He can relieve the guilt. He can erase what is not real, and He can give Himself away.
These are the realities of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are the key outcomes of this amazing story, as highly significant as the birth, life, crucifixion, and resurrection.
© 2014 Garments of Praise. Written by S. J. Wickham.
