Lou: Jesus is love personified. In Luke 11:37-52 He was invited to dine in the home of a Pharisee. He seemed to be right at home in accepting the invitation. No doubt It seemed like a good opportunity to show His love for the Pharisees. But was it still love when He pronounced woes on the Pharisees and the lawyers just before dinner?
Graham: I wish we had a video of the look on His face and the sound of His voice. I am sure there were tears in His voice when He said what He did, because He was addressing His own children. And it’s very clear in Scripture that God does not want anyone to be lost. But when people’s behavior was gross and unacceptable, He was honest with them, like a good physician. You would like the doctor to tell you the truth and to do whatever needs to be done. And so He gave them the unvarnished truth for their own sakes. This is the One who gave His life for them a little while later. So there’s a time for denunciation, but it had better be done with tears in the voice.
Lou: What if Jesus suddenly appeared at your home? Would you be afraid?
Graham: I’ve often wondered about that. I think the blood pressure would rise and the pulse would quicken and I’d hope my vascular system could handle it. But I would be saying to myself, “There is no need to be afraid.” But to have such an awesome Person come in, you’d be bound to react, wouldn’t you? I love the way that John “fell at His feet as though dead” (Rev 1:17). But Jesus immediately says to him, “Get up, and don’t be scared.” Over and over in the Bible when Ezekiel and others have fallen at His feet, He says, “Get up, don’t be scared” (Gen 15:1; 21:17; Exod 20:20; Jdg 6:22-23; Ezek 2:1; Dan 10:5-19; Luke 1:11-13; 26-30; 5:8-10). He doesn’t want us on the ground, and He doesn’t want us to be scared.
Lou: Well now Graham, what if the Father, God the Father, appeared at your home instead? Would you feel any different?
Graham: That would be a beautiful test case! If I should be more afraid of the Father than the Son, then I’m not living up to what I’ve been saying tonight. I guess I’d be saying to myself, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father” and “God is just as loving as His Son.” I hope when that day comes, that my conviction will be lived to the core, that there is no need to be more afraid of the Father than of the Son.
I love to picture arriving in the hereafter and meeting Jesus first, the Son. And He says to me, “Would you like to meet the Father?”
Would I say, “Well, if You go with me, I’d be willing to go?”
Would He say in response, “You can go by yourself?”
I think it’s much more likely that Jesus would say, “Are you still a little scared?”
“Well, I’m embarrassed to say so, but yes.”
“Then I’ll go with you.” And then I’ll go in with the Son to see the Father, and the Father’s face will be just as kind as that of the Son.
You see, some folk have died a friend of the Son but still a little afraid of the Father. But they’re safe to save nevertheless. They’re willing to listen. I think there will be many happy surprises in the hereafter, when people discover that the Father is just as gentle as the Son. So we will have a lot of happy surprises in eternity.