Not lose even one

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life.... For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life -- that I should raise them at the last day." (John 6:35-40 NLT)



I believe in Jesus as my Savior because his power of life, his power of forgiveness, his power of mercy, his power of grace, his power of redemption, albeit his power of healing transcends all barriers & boundaries & judgments & sicknesses & the whole of human condition. When it comes to the human condition, there is nothing that falls outside the power of his crucifixion and the dominion of his resurrection. It is not for the living to judge the dead. It is not for us mortals to meddle in the fate of the immortals. What God has resurrected by the promise of his vicarious sacrifice, remains alive and resurrected and bound to eternal life. The promise to us is great, no matter what befalls us in this mortal journey, Jesus awaits us at the end with his hand out-stretched to lead us to our prepared place in his mansion in the kingdom of God. It really does not matter what anybody else thinks about it, righteous and sinners alike who are so wise in our self-righteous generation. According to Jesus, it only matters what God thinks. And everyone that God has given to him will not be lost, no not even one. In this world, we are beset with so many diseases great and small, physical and mental, real and imagined, social and psychological, material and spiritual, poverty and wealth, even boredom & age & purposelessness & abundance, some lead to death and others to oblivion. Make no mistake about it: what we believe or do on this earth has serious consequences. We may be a blessing or a curse, a giver or a taker, a joy or a sorrow, a beacon of hope or a shadow of despair. But in the end, whatever the cause of our earthly demise, it is the unerring promise of God that counts -- that begins anew a fresh journey in the way of eternal life. So do not judge, my brothers and sisters; for God has not judged you and me, but has rather blessed us with the overbearing, overriding, overpowering guarantee that he will not let us be lost, no not one -- once he has given us into the hand of his beloved Son. So have faith, be assured that all our healing, now and eternal, begins and ends and begins again with the touch of the hand of Jesus. Yes indeed, he touched me and made me whole.

Let us pray:

Lord God our Father, for all those whom you have graciously given into our keeping during our earthly pilgrimage, we thank you for saving and resurrecting each of them to eternal life as you have promised. In Jesus name, Amen