"Permanent"

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30 NIV).

As many of you know, jobs are very difficult to find in our economy today. One of the challenges of starting Grace Restoration Ministries full time was being able to secure a part-time position that would allow me to earn a little money while I secured a base of support and give me the time to do the work of the ministry. God opened a door at Home Depot for a “part-time temporary” job several weeks ago. The only down side of the job is that I have to wear an orange apron! I am kidding about the orange vest for all of you who are Longhorn fans. There is one real downside though. It is temporary, which means that it will only last through their “busy season.” On Friday of this week that status changed. I was told that I was definitely going to be offered a “permanent” position!

That gave me a thought. The concept of permanence rarely applies to anything. Almost everything in our lives is temporary. The one thing that is truly permanent is our eternal life. There's nothing more tragic than a Christian fearing they will be disowned by their heavenly Father. Much of the time they end each day wondering if they did enough good that day so that they will continue to hear that they are a child of God. Today’s reading is one of the clearest proofs that my salvation is permanent. There may be days I don't feel like His child but feelings don't erase my identity. I’ve talked to a lot of people who cannot wrap their minds around that truth. They have difficulty with the concept of the eternal security of their salvation. They argue that an earthly father can disown a child, or a child can leave home, declare himself free of his family, and never return to home turf again. However, I’d remind them that if DNA testing were done on the father and child, evidence would still show that they are still very much related. Regardless of that argument, god is simply not bound by earthly habits or practices. Scripture speaks of being born again into the kingdom through faith in Christ.

Birth into any family means a new and permanent identity. I am called a child of God. There are many days I don't feel like His child, even act like His child, yet I am because by His grace I was called into this relationship as a freshman at Texas A&M University! No disgracing behavior can erase whom I belong to. If I had decided along the way to say that I had somehow disqualified myself from being His child, my proclamation wouldn't have nullified my adoption. No matter what I say or do today, it's irrelevant as far as my standing with Christ. Though I may break my Father's heart when I sin, He is still my Father. When I come limping home, He will be scanning the horizon looking for my face to appear.

Perhaps you struggle with your faith when the sun goes down. When you think of the Second Coming of Christ, you fear you will be left. Perhaps you suffer from a disease where the days ahead of you are few. The thought of dying seizes your heart with fear. Look at Jesus’ promise again! He has you in His hand and no one or no “thing” can snatch you out of it. The same hand that created the world, threw the stars into place, and causes the sun to rise in the morning and keep our earth on its axis, can and does hold you in a firm grip!