forever

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FOREVER

Matt 28:16 -20

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

NIV

There is just one last thing we have to consider within these last words of Jesus that Matthew recorded for us. This is what Jesus said about always being with us, and that he would be with us to the very end of the age. What is significate is that the Greek word translated as age carries a rather interesting meaning. First, an age can mean a certain period of time, but among the Greek authors, aioon is used as an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, or eternity. Hence in the New Testament, it means forever. This means we are never alone, we do not have to live this life without Jesus. He is alive and in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father forever making intercession for us. We have Jesus, the advocate who defends us before the Father. We are declared innocent forever because of Jesus. The devil would want us to feel guilt and shame every time we make even the tiniest of mistakes. However, when we make a mistake, we fall prey to some temptation, Jesus is there. Sure, we need to ask forgiveness, but we do not need to feel the guilt and shame for we have been forgiven and need to move forward pressing toward the finish line, forgetting what is behind us. That is once we have asked and forgiven forever, we need no longer dwell on our past sins, but press on, keep going and live in the present looking forward because Jesus will always be with us and will always be there for us. He promised that he would never leave nor forsake us. This brings us peace that is beyond measure. Knowing Jesus will be with us gives us an assurance that no one else in this world can offer. Because this Greek word can mean forever, that also assures us that when we breathe our last, Jesus will still be with us, or we could say, that we will be with Jesus, for he is the firstborn of the resurrected. Because he was resurrected, so will we be raised from the dead, in a sense. That fact is that just as Jesus gave up his spirit, his body was left behind, monetarily, we will leave our behind, monetarily, but we, however, we will be, will be with Jesus forever. That is eternity or the end of time, which is to mean, time will be no more, instead, there will only be, forever.