Tears of Love

Some thoughts I've been pondering and can't easily shake off, so I thought I'd share them with you...

Imagine with me, for a moment, what it felt like for Mary (mother of Jesus) to witness Jesus' death. But before we go there, let's think about her relationship with Him from the beginning. She knew for sure, 100%, that He was the Messiah. There was no other explanation for how He came into this world. She knew she was a virgin, more so than anyone else knew. She saw and heard the angel tell her what was going to happen. She believed, completely, whole-heartedly that Jesus was the Son of God. She saw Him every day. She knew Him. Imagine how her heart went out to Him while raising Him. I'm so in love with my son, Kai, who sins daily. His sin doesn't make me love him any less, but can you imagine what it must have felt like to nurture and love on a perfect being?! I'm sure it was pure bliss.

Mary knew Jesus came to earth to save and restore us back to God. She knew He was King. Imagine how horrible it was for her to watch people spit, hit, whip, shove, ridicule and torture her Son. Anger. Rage. Confusion. Absolute brokenness. Wanting to stop it and protect Him, but not being able to do anything, only watch and cry. Grief.

And then, imagine that moment when she realized that her sin also nailed Him to that cross. She had a part in putting Him there. He was taking her sin upon Himself, and dying, so she didn't have to! I can not imagine how awful and gut-wrenching that was for Mary to endure. A sword piercing her heart.

Praise God it only had to happen once! Praise God that Jesus took our sin and made us His righteousness instead! Praise God that Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death! Praise God for the story of Redemption, for Jesus! Praise God!

Take My Hand

"Here's what I'm gonna do with Gomer, your cheating wife.

I'm going to take her out to the desert. I'm going to allure her,

and out there she's finally going to get tired of herself.

And there I will speak tenderly to her...

And out there, out where it's dry,

she'll finally learn to quit calling me master and start calling me husband."

(Hosea, paraphrased by Matt Chandler)

I think God has ordained the desert for me, for a period of time, this period of time. I don't think it's sin or disobedience that brings me to this place. I think God has called me there to make me realize some sin deep, deep in my heart. It's in the desert that I'll learn to get tired of myself. I'll learn to stop fighting God. I'll learn to stop doubting His provision and love. I'll learn to let go of earthly things and earthly thinking. I'll learn to stop calling Him master and start calling Him husband. This desert will be good for me. God will grow me in ways I didn't know I needed to be grown. He will change me, and for that, I thank Him and praise Him.