The Ancient Future Church

John 10:19-30

“And no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”

The grip that Jesus has on us is unparalleled. No one or anything (Romans 8:28-39) can separate us from Him who has laid hold of us. No one. Nothing.

This is incredibly comforting in a world in which life seems to be slipping away. In recent months fortunes have been erased. Values are in flux if not on the way out. Enemies of our nation grow both in number and in strength.

If this was all I knew, I would despair. There would be little reason to get out of bed (not that three boys under four would ever allow me to stay there). It would be life without future, life without hope.

But no one and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. No one and nothing can snatch us out of his hand.

When I was a little boy, I almost drown in Lake Ellen. I came off a slide and walked a few feet from the end and suddenly there was no bottom beneath me. I could swim but I panicked and began flailing about and occasionally slipped beneath the surface. My brother and some cousins were nearby but seemingly unaware of the imminent danger. My father was on shore and saw the predicament. He began sprinting toward me. This caught the attention of the lifeguard who leapt into action and sped by my dad. As I sensed hope and therefore life slipping away, the lifeguard laid hold of me and pulled me from peril.

This is what Jesus has done for us. He has snatched us from peril. The threat is real and imminent. Sin alienates us from God and apart from Jesus it would alienate us forever. We would slip beneath the surface never to be seen again.  But Jesus sprints towards us and lays hold of us. And he grips us with a bond that cannot be broken. He is our lifeguard. And because his grip is so sure, anything that could rob us of life and hope will be defeated.