The Wisdom Of The Cross
When King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to know the Empires that would come after his reign, he had a dream of a great statue. The head was gold, the arms and chest of silver; the belly and thighs were brass; but the legs were iron, and the feet were iron and clay. The image was so glorious to him, that he built a 90-foot replica to make men worship it.
When God gave Daniel a vision of the same Empires from His perspective, they were all unnatural, cruel animals, enforcing their rule. The first was a lion with wings; the second a bear devouring flesh; the third was a grotesque leopard with four heads and four wings; the fourth was an iron beast, having iron teeth, and delighting in savage terror.
The Lord Jesus warned people that how unsaved men see things and how God sees them are two different things… “That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15), for man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart and sees the true nature.
This is why Jesus came to earth, not to seat Himself upon a throne, but to walk unflinchingly toward a Cross to save us - for His kingdom begins in the heart. He came to win our love by saving us from death, gifting us with His own righteousness, and granting us everlasting life. He will never need to reign over us by force, for His people love Him, and will have no other king.
Through Christ, God has rescued us from the tyranny of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. May we live unflinchingly for the eyes of the only One whose opinion matters for eternity, and whose reign shall have no end.
(Devotional by Lisa Cataford)
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