The Power of Eternity
“But now that you have
been set free from sin, and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap
leads to holiness…and the result is eternal life.” (Romans 8:22)
Doctors have chuckled
at some of the more peculiar ailments described by patients, including:
“Migrating” headaches, “Prospect” glands, “Mental” pause, “Scat Cans,” of the
brain. One man mentioned that
someone quit breathing and had to have “artificial insemination.” One woman requested a “Monogram.” Another complained of pain in the “palms of
my feet.”
Still another told
the doctor before her operation:
“Don’t worry, if anything happens, my son has the power of
eternity.” (Attorney-maybe; eternity-
not.)
God is so gracious to
give our marvelous medics a spoonful of sugar while they make the medicine go
down. But whether you work with
patients, clients, children or plain ‘ol regular folks, you’ve heard similar
slips of the tongue. You’ve probably
even made a few yourself. A changed
letter here or a reversed word there and oh, what a difference it makes. You soon ask yourself, “Do they know what
they just said?”
Power of eternity is
a phrase that should catch our collective attention. Though I risk sounding like a killjoy amidst
our funny bone frenzy, power of eternity is generally no laughing matter. The problem is, so many people have been
deceived by the enemy into believing that eternity will be given to anyone who
believes in anything. The popular answer
is “All roads lead to the same mountain.”
Myriads of people are
chasing crystals, psychics, tarot cards, cults, false religions, leaders,
worldly pleasures, or just being good (whatever that means). Like a smorgasbord at a buffet restaurant, we
get to choose whatever we want. And
choose we do. When it comes to Satan, he
loves to make us believe these things somehow give us life abundant and life
eternal. His one objective: Keep them
from finding the One that truly gives the power of eternity…Jesus Christ.
Following Jesus
healing of the blind man, he speaks of His authority over this life and eternal
life. He says, “The thief comes only
to kill, steal and destroy…but I have come that they may have life, and have it
to the full.” (John 10:10)
You see, power of
eternity belongs to God and God alone.
The Bible clearly attributes Jesus alone with such authority.
1) Jesus claimed Himself to be God. (Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:1-12; John 8:58)
2) His disciples claimed He was
God. (Matthew 16:13-20; John 20:24-28;
Colossians 1:15-19)
3) His opponents knew His claims.
(Marks 2:7; John 8:57-59)
Whether it’s Buddha,
Confucius, Mohammed…tarot cards, pleasures, or being nice, they’re all the
thief’s way to get you off track.
There is only One who was great enough to make the claims He did and live
up to them. “But now that you have been
set free from sin, and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to
holiness…and the result is eternal life.”
(Romans 8:22)
Now that is what I call “power.”
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Why has universalism (the
belief that all faiths are equal) so rampant?
2) What role does pride play in
keeping people from eternity?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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