July 21 Thought for Today – “The Key” “Faith is the key!” Romans 4:16 There’s something powerful about a key - having one in your possession “puts you in charge.” It also indicates a position of trust or responsibility. Giving a child his or her own house key can be an important step in their growing up. Possessing a car key is the goal of many teens seeking greater control of their lives by being able to go where they want. And for many, the key to a person’s first apartment or home is the ultimate in self-achievement or responsibility. There’s also something mysterious about a key: after I use it, what will I find on the other side? Before the era of computerized car keys, dealerships used to send inexpensive keys with mailers promoting their cars, inviting the recipient to come in and see if the key would start a specific car. If it did (I never tried!), the car was theirs. Sometimes in going through our belongings we find a long-forgotten key and wonder what it opened: do we still have what it did, or should we throw the key away? And then there’s the heir who receives a key to his ancestor’s lockbox. Will the box contain personal treasures of value only to the deceased, or will there be valuable items for the inheritor? The Bible lists eight uses of keys. Deuteronomy 30:20 says we have “the key to life” when we love God, obey Him, and commit ourselves firmly to Him. Judges 3:25 mentions the use of a key to open the door to the king’s private chambers. Isaiah 22:22 (speaking of Jesus) says: “I will give him the key to the house of David – the highest position in the royal court. When He opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when He closes doors, no one will be able to open them.” In Matthew 16:19, Peter was given “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” With those “keys” – the message of Christ – Peter gave the first Gospel sermons to both Jews and Gentiles. In Luke 11:52, Jesus upbraided the “experts in religious law for removing the key to knowledge from the people.” In Revelation 1:18, Jesus said: “I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.” And in Revelation 9:1 the “fifth angel” was given “the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.” But the most important “key” of all is found in Romans 4:16, for faith is the key to God’s promise of eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ. No key in all the world is more valuable than that! “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1 Selah! copsonthestreet
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 10:37:01 +0000
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