34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. 

What a strange thing for Jesus to say! Just a moment before, he had told his disciples that some of them would be put to death for their witness to the gospel (Luke 21:16). But now he promises that no harm will come to them. How could both statements be true?

It may not make sense to us, but it makes total sense to Jesus. That’s because he knows that death is just a transition, not the end. He knows that anyone who dies in the grace of God will one day join him in heaven, glorified in body and soul. There, all sin and suffering and sadness will be banished forever.

So when Jesus looked at his disciples, he saw something more than men and women who would be here today and gone tomorrow. He saw sons and daughters of God whose lives had already been transformed by his love. He saw people destined for eternity, people about to be filled with his Spirit and given the supernatural gift of faith in him and his promises. Death didn’t have a hold on them—and it doesn’t need to have a hold on us.

This gift of eternal life is at the very heart of the gospel. It’s the promise embedded in every one of Jesus’ miracles. It’s the core truth behind all his parables and sermons. It’s the animating principle of the Beatitudes and the reason why Jesus embraced the suffering of the cross. He did it all so that we could live forever.

Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. Not a single hair! You belong to Christ, and he has marked you for heaven. Yes, you may undergo trials and difficulties in this life. That’s okay; everyone does. But these trials and difficulties don’t have to overpower you. In fact, as you hold fast to the Lord, you’ll come to see them as a “momentary light affliction” that is producing for you “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

So today, ask yourself, “Where is my faith in the resurrection?” But even more, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the promise of eternal life. Let him convince you that what Jesus promised to the disciples is true for you as well: not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

“All praise to you, Jesus! You have conquered death forever!”

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
(Psalm) Daniel 3:62-67
Luke 21:12-19