“Those living in darkness have seen a great light.”

Today is a day when I am struck by the sheer amazing fact that God chose to dwell among us. That He was willing to spend 33 years, even years as a helpless, defenseless child with us.

If I could live more in the awe that those thoughts encompass everyday, I am certain my attitude, choices, and actions would be radically different.

I need to be like John the Baptist in the first chapter of John’s gospel. He didn’t see himself as anyone special, even though he had great crowds following him and had attracted a lot of attention from the religious leaders. He didn’t claim to be a prophet, just a voice in the wilderness.

And he was in awe of Jesus. He said that he wasn’t even worthy to tie his sandal.

That’s true of me too. And yet, Jesus allows us to do so much more than tie his sandal. We are messengers of His arrival. We are workers in His ministry to the world. And we are called God’s sons and daughters.

Whew! That will leave you in awe…and I hope you can stay in that mindset.

There comes a time when we experience attacks, not for things we have done wrong, but for things we are doing right. Our enemies are so angry toward us in general that they are blind to the benefits our actions are having on the world around us. Jesus was healing people, taking away suffering and curing diseases that would have ended the lives or caused long term suffering in the lives of hundreds of people…and still the Pharisees wanted to get rid of Him.

The wicked make evil plans
against good people
they grind their teeth at them
in anger. ~ Psalm 37:12

It’s a good thing that Jesus goes on to tell us that we should love our enemies, and that He lives this out in His own life. Otherwise we might make the mistake of fighting back and stopping the good work that we should stay focused on.

It’s hard to keep your spirit up when you are being treated like an enemy or criminal. You desperately want to defend yourself, and you suffer the pain of public opinion: whatever side of the story people hear first, they believe. You simply have to hold up under the attack until time and your good work prove your character, and you have to live with the fact that you will have enemies. You simply cannot allow them to distract you or discourage you from what God has called you to do.

Luke 5:36-6:45

what must it have been like as the parents of john the baptist, jesus, or sampson? Knowing your child is born for some great task, yet seeing them grow toward it from infancy. God does not often reveal the future with such detail because we tend to be foolish when we have a guarantee of His blessing.

Foolish, yet courageous. God’s promises and loyal love are what give us courage for the days ahead. As lamentations says in today’s reading, “i have hope when i think of this, the Lords love never ends”

I have a weak will and make plenty of mistakes, and this promise gives me courage amidst my failings. Gods love never ends. His mercies are new every morning.

Father help me to love with great courage knowing that you won’t abandon me in my failings. thank you that although i don’t have many promises regarding the future, i have this one.

lamentations 3:21-26

Two thousand pigs…drowned. Two THOUSAND!
I would be pretty willing to send away the guy who caused that to happen too.

I find that there are more unanswered questions than answered ones regarding this event:

• Where did the demons go after the pigs died?
• Why did Jesus allow such destruction?
• Did the death of the pigs help His cause, or hurt it?
• What was the point of this encounter?

I am reminded of the words of C.S. Lewis in this encounter:
“He’s not a tame lion, but He is good.”

Jesus is rarely predictable, and often controversial and even astounding in His actions…but they served His purpose to spread the news of the kingdom, of that I am certain. I just think I would have done it differently.

I need to keep an eye out for how God wants to work in unexpected ways in my own life and community. I need to be more willing to follow Him if He does something controversial or risky. And I need to remember how valuable one man’s life was to Jesus.

One of the hardest things to grasp in the Christian walk when you are excited and pursuing God with great diligence, is the lukewarm attitudes of so many others. I didn’t really appreciate the parable Jesus tells of the four soils until I started to get discouraged by the people I meet at church sometimes.

I realize now that the world is full of distractions and challenges that take our energy and effort away from the spiritual life…and that it is a blessing to be young and have more time than responsibilities, like I was, when you start following Jesus. That time and flexibility allow a lot of spiritual growth to occur that the average adult does not have.

Take advantage of your free time if you have it. Invest it well, and pursue God passionately.

And make sure you use every ounce of time you can make available if you don’t. Sacrificing hobbies, getting up an hour earlier, and even reducing expenses or income by changing your job or possessions are worthwhile sacrifices if you use that extra time to grow spiritually.