Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 4:17
Daniel Boone, a frontiersman, has been called “the Columbus of the woods.” A painting by George Caleb Bingham shows him leading settlers through the Cumberland Gap in east-central United States.
Spiritually speaking, Adam and Eve and all their descendants were lost in the woods, unable to find their way out of the encumbered land of sin. But God had mercy. He promised to send His own Son to lead the way out of “the land of the shadow of death” (Isaiah 9:2) into the realm of light and life eternal. That Son was, at the “fullness of time,” born of the virgin Mary and was called Jesus, meaning Savior. He was in every respect – by His Word and divine works – revealed as the promised Messiah of whom Isaiah and the other prophets had spoken. When Jesus of Nazareth opened His preaching and healing ministry in Galilee, the evangelist Matthew pronounced Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled.
Our Lord did more than show us the way to life; He Himself was – and still is – the Way, the only way, to the Father. He became that when He, as the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith, endured the cross to atone for our sins and then rose again to assure us of the resurrection of our bodies to life eternal.
Human beings are limited in what they can do. Christopher Columbus and Daniel Boone could open up parts of the world for human habitation, giving economically depressed people anew lease on life. But saviors from sin and givers of eternal life they could not be. Only Jesus Christ is both Giver and Guide as we wend our way through this world, en route to the “better country – a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).
PRAYER: O Heavenly Leader, continue to direct and guide me through this world and into my heavenly home with You. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 143-145 John 18:1-18
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