August 30 (Matthew 28:20)
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
(ESV)
This is a
beautiful promise that Jesus makes in the very last verse of the Gospel of
Matthew, yet the English simply does not capture all of it. Greek word order is highly flexible, allowing
it to express concepts both by the meanings of the words and by their
arrangement. The first part of our Lord’s
promise actually reads, I-with you-I am.
Notice the position of the words.
Where is Jesus? At the beginning and
the end of the promise. Where are
we? In the middle. He literally has us surrounded, wrapped in
his embrace.
As for the word “always,”
well, that is a fair enough translation, but the Greek actually reads “throughout
all days.” Day in and day out, Jesus is
with us. When we get up in the morning,
when we go to bed at night, and then again the next. And again the next. And again and again.
Now put all that
together. Jesus has you in his loving
embrace and He will never let you go. He
is not just in the corner of the room watching.
He is intimately involved in every fear, worry, concern, joy,
celebration, and hope that you have every single minute of every day of your
life. How about that for a promise!
Jesus, my heart leaps at the thought of how close You are to me at all times! Thank You, my Lord and Savior, for such a beautiful and powerful promise. I want to live a life based on this truth and nothing else. I love You, Jesus! Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins
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