Jesus was surrounded by a group of religious leaders who wanted to kill Him. They wanted Him to state plainly that He was the Messiah, probably so they would have a good excuse to stone Him. Jesus told them that they had a choice. He had already told them that He and the Father are one. They had seen Him do miracles to back that claim. But they weren’t moved. “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” He told them. Their lack of belief means they are not His sheep. Compare that with how Jesus talks about those who are His sheep. He gives us eternal life and no one can snatch us out of His hand. And no one is able to snatch us out of the Father’s hand. There is great security in this. We don’t have to stay in His hand out of our own power. Anyone who wants to take us out of His hand has to contend against Jesus and the Father, and no one can.
Have you ever been concerned that you’ve wandered too far and can’t come back to Jesus? Have you worried about your ability to stand up to temptation and felt like the burden of maintaining your salvation was on you? Just as we don’t earn our salvation, we don’t secure it. Jesus does. He earns our salvation, and it is completely secure in the palm of His hand. No one can touch it. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to live out our salvation and follow Jesus, but it does mean that our salvation is not dependent on what we can do, but on what Jesus has done and will do.
Does knowing that your eternal life is safe in the Lord’s hands change the way you feel about your struggles? You may struggle with following the Lord, but your salvation is secure. Pray and meditate on how this could affect your life and hope for the future.