Monday, July 25, 2016

He Says What He Means and
He Means What He Says

 

[Photo of a mountain lake at sunrise]


“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
—Matthew 24:25

Generally, people like things that last. We would prefer to buy appliances for our kitchens one time and have those appliances last for the entire time we live in that particular dwelling. At least that is the experience that many of us observed from our parents growing up in the late 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s.

Alas, that is no longer possible. While the appliances today have many more technologically superior features than the appliances of those long-ago days, they also do not last nearly as long. In fact, rather than make connections with a skilled craftsman to maintain our appliances, we quickly buy new ones when the ones we have break down.

My family is very fortunate. We live in a place where we have found a most excellent appliance service technician. Mike Kennedy has kept our fourteen-year-old appliances in good shape. We have saved thousands of dollars because of his very reasonably priced and highly skilled care. But, we realize we are very unusual. Many of our friends in other areas have had to replace their appliances a couple of times in the same period of time.

We like permanence, but realize it is hard to find nowadays. The same thing is true of people keeping their word. We prefer to deal with people who say what they mean and mean what they say. But, our society prizes untruth. Look at the media. Most news stories are couched in terms that distort the truth and give us a skewed version of the facts. The political and social biases of the reporters often shape the reporting of the news far more than the truth of the actual facts.

This lack of truth telling has spilled over into our normal conversations. Many people say one thing, but never really intend to so what they say. “I’ll check back with you later today,” a friend promises. Literally days go by before we hear from that friend. Often, we don’t hear at all until we initiate contact. Did our friend intend to lie? Possibly not, but she lied just the same.

Where can we find unbending truth? I’ll tell you where. Take note of what the Lord Jesus Christ says, as recorded in Matthew 24:25:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Jesus always speaks the truth. Not only does He speak the truth, He says what He means and He means what He says. That’s why when he says in Matthew 11:28:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus means exactly what He says. All who are weary and burdened with the sin that has entrapped them inside a prison of evil can come to Him and He will give them rest. He will forgive their sins, bring healing to their souls, and make all things in their lives new.

Jesus is trustworthy. His words will endure well beyond the length of days. And, that, dear ones, is something we can celebrate, as we begin this new day.

 

Copyright © 2016 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.