If there were a door into the City of God, what would it look like? If you knew how to recognize it, would you go in? At the end of the Book of Revelation there is an altogether lovely picture of a new City of Jerusalem. That city is described is such rich detail that it is hard to think that anyone would want to resist entering. It is the City where God dwells and it is glorious: It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal . . . The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. As we read through this description of the precious stones it may be easy to overlook the 12 entrances with an old phrase like the Pearly Gates. Notice, though, that of every stone mentioned, the pearl is the only one that is formed through blood and suffering and death. The entrance into this city from heaven is through blood and suffering and death. Not ours . . . His. The blood and suffering and death of Jesus is the admission into the City of God. Now that you know how to recognize the door, and you know that the price of admission has been paid, will you enter? Whosoever will may come. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. — Matthew 13:45-46
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 04:10:02 +0000
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