You know the gift giving protocol… You present your best gift to the one being celebrated, as demonstrated by the wise men who brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But this Christmas, you may be asking, “What if my best gift is a shattered heart?” Jesus will take it.
What if it is a mind that cannot stop racing?” Jesus will take it.
What if it is a crushed spirit?” Jesus will take it.
For He, the One whose birth we are celebrating, welcomes such gifts, takes them, and reminds us of the reasons He came: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19, NKJV).
Come and present all you are and are not. Jesus will take you.
/ – /
The Christmas season can be very difficult for many, and especially after the grief, uncertainty, pain, and varied losses of the past 24 months. But Jesus calls us to come as we are and find all we need in Him. Will you accept His invitation?
The original version of this post was published in. 2020.
For Jesus’ disciples, what we now call Good Friday was a horrible, awful day, and the Saturday after, which can be considered the “in-between” day, was not any better. On that day, they woke up to the reality that Jesus was dead. You know how it is… something terrible happens one day, you go to bed, and in the few seconds just after you wake up the following day, all may seem well again … just like a regular day. You may even stretch, then the reality of the loss or whatever made the previous day very difficult, even traumatic, hits you again and you feel the wrenching pain, the loss, the despair as if you are experiencing the loss for the first time.
Good Friday was the worst day of the lives of His disciples and all who loved Jesus, and Saturday must not have been much better.
For us on this side of the Cross, Saturday, the “in-between” day, between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, is different. It is filled with anticipation because we know what they did not know on their “in between” Saturday … We know Sunday, Resurrection Day came! HE AROSE! Yes! Yes! Yes! We anticipate attending church, the anthems of worship and exultation, hearing the Word read once more, celebrating His resurrection with family and/or friends. But, like them, we all have our “Saturdays,” those “in-between” days or seasons when the only thing that looms, dominates our thoughts, is the “Friday,” that is, the loss, the heartbreak, the betrayal, the rejection, whatever devastated us. On our “Saturdays,” we do not know what will happen. We can be unsure if we will survive what we experienced.
On our personal “Saturdays,” it is essential that we remember, it is an “in-between” day or season. Sunday is coming. It always comes for the child of God. Death, whether it is of a person, a dream, a relationship, is never designed by our Father to be our final dwelling place. We really can still say, even with the snot running from our noses, our eyes red from weeping with tears still flowing, through the hiccups and exhaustion, “Sunday is coming. Sunday is coming.”
At first we may only be able to whisper this truth but we need to hear ourselves say it. Even if there is some doubt. We are not being delusional when we do so because our Father has promised “Saturday” is not all there is and will be. Say it as much as you need to until the truth changes your perspective and, if necessary, restores your hope, strengthens your faith. Sunday is coming! As it was for Jesus, there is a resurrection day in store for you.
Note: The original version of this post was first published in 2011.
WORD...breathed 