“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22 (NIV)
I’ll miss his face. It should be at the table. I will miss his childlike excitement as he gives me his Christmas gift and his hands that would have received mine. Oh, how I will miss his laughter that filled the room. My heart physically aches thinking about how he would have made the day special for the grandbabies and his habit of constantly grabbing their ears and rubbing the toes of our newest addition. I miss all these things now, but the finality of the year and this holiday without him leaves a jagged, gaping hole and a deafening silence.
Death does not feel natural because it was never supposed to be natural. We weren’t supposed to be separated from each other. Not just my husband and me, but everyone.
The reason God formed a handful of dust and gave it His breath of life was to multiply relationship and express His great love for us. He didn’t need us; He chose us. He loves relationship, and He especially loves relationship with us.
But the truth is, we were robbed. More than robbed, the one who robbed us intended to kill and destroy us. Who stole what you may ask. Satan stole our eternal, unbroken gift of relationship. He weaseled his way between us and the One who first loved us.
Whatever God says is good Satan desires to destroy. God values human life; Satan wants artificial life. The covenant of marriage; Satan wants marriages that do not fulfill the command to populate and fill the earth. God desires that we enjoy the sacredness of sex; Satan uses pornography to crush sexual relationships that were supposed to be rooted in love, respect, and truth. God is the definition of love; Satan wants us to believe that love is self-referencing. God is the Fountainhead of truth; Satan is the father of lies.
Adam and Eve may seem weak and foolish in the Garden of Eden, but, if so, it’s because we have the vantage point of seeing the whole picture. They are really no different from us. Whether it’s in a garden over 2000 years ago or in our immediate moment, our struggles look just like Eve’s did.
On a daily basis Satan works his various angles to drive a wedge between us and God. He’ll feed us just a little bit of truth so that his suggestion seems plausible. We then take that little bit of truth and mix in our reasoning. We’re sure God really meant this … We decide we can help God if we do that … Ultimately, we decide that we know what is best for us. Once we’ve fit the info into our comfortable, safe formula, we happily bite our apple. Just as quickly as Satan appears with his persuasive tactics, he then disappears into thin air leaving us to struggle with the two things that will guarantee we keep our distance from God: guilt and shame.
When Jesus went to the cross, He did not fear the ridicule of people for He knew who He belonged to. He was not shamed by the despicable death on a cross, because He asked God to forgive the people who had done this to Him. He did not run from the physical beatings that left him unrecognizable, because He never opened His mouth or lifted His hand to defend or protect Himself. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, hours before being imprisoned, He cried out in anguish to the point that He sweated blood because He knew the cross was quickly approaching and He would be separated from His Father.
Like a wine bottle opener that drills deep into the cork, so does the pain of broken relationship. Divorce, death, rejection—they are unnatural to how we were created and so we get that small taste of the immense loss that Jesus placed on relationship. Even so, He willingly endured this pain for all of humanity. Jesus’ separation from His Father would be restored, because His Father is the most compassionate Dad you’ll ever meet.
God provided a solution to restore that which was stolen. He sent a great Man, the Son of the Most High. He provided a world changer, a King whose kingdom would never end. God was sending a powerful, unmatched, unrivaled history-making Man who would testify to who God is.
God sent a tiny, helpless baby. He entrusted the Son of the Most High to the heart and hands of a very young, first-time mom.
Is this not a wakeup call to the fact that God’s ways are not our own?
To be first you must be last. To die is to live. To lose is to gain. Fully man and fully God. This baby flipped everything on its head and still challenges us today to redefine our value system.
This Christmas, pull up close to the manger and give it a thorough inspection. Move slowly over the humble beginning, but don’t miss the layers of intentionality. See how simple it is to approach Him, but never underestimate the lengths to which He will go to win your heart. Ponder His message of peace, but don’t forget He is fearless and unmatched in His strength. See the splintered wood of the feeding bin, but don’t forget the throne He willingly left. Touch the pieces of cloth He’s wrapped in, but remember the holy robe He laid down. He seems defenseless, but inside His physical body dwells the Spirit of the Living God.
As you unwrap the unassuming gift God placed under the star, embrace His provision of restored relationship for the here and now, as well as eternally, and marvel at the wonder of Him creating you in His image.
NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Self-reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
- Are you missing someone this Christmas? Who is it?
- What about this person will you miss?
- What kind of traditions did you share?
- Will you keep these traditions, make changes to them or do away with them all together? Explain your choice.
- What do you think it means to be created in the image of God?
- Do you recognize any similarities between you and the one whose image you were created in (baby Jesus/adult Jesus)? If so, which ones?
- Did you take the time to unwrap the gift of baby Jesus? If so, did you find something new and fresh about this age old historical account? Write it out.
Use God’s word to take control over traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts, take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises found in His word.
Print, then cut and carry this Scripture with you and/or post it in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s word says to encourage you and to give you an example of His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22 (NIV)
When you read God’s Word say to yourself: Jesus set the example of life after death. If we choose Him we can expect to live in paradise where all relationship is restored to its fullness. We will experience a joy that is indescribable and incomparable to what we have experienced thus far in life. He will restore us to Him and to all of our loved ones who also choose to spend eternity with Christ.
Now LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
