I saw this game while out Christmas shopping the other day and it reminded me of the single funniest moment of my life. If your curiosity has been piqued, feel free to ask Juli about it, but be prepared for her to run away and sit on the terlit and have a good cry.
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Our Sunday school lesson this morning was from Philippians chapter 2 and talked about the sacrifices Jesus made to come down and live among His creation. Have you ever really stopped and given thought as to what Christ walked away from? Heaven, paradise, never-ending peace and joy, eternal worship, complete freedom from the effects of sin, just to name a few. He had existed in heaven since heaven's beginning and He chose to leave it behind. He willingly left the place where we long to be in order to come and live in the place we long to leave. I'll never understand that, I don't think.
What about His life while here? Paul writes that Jesus "... made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant" and that He "... humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death." So, He voluntarily left paradise to come to a fallen and sinful world, and once He was here and human, He takes on complete humility and becomes a like a servant. The Creator comes to serve His creation.
Was His impending death the only worry Jesus had? Sure, that was enough; more than anyone else could handle, but in thirty-three years there must have been other cares and burdens that He had to bear. The temptations He faced would, actually do, stump the rest of us. I would wager that the full force of hell was behind it. But, as a man, Jesus would most certainly have burdens and trials. And it was all by choice.
So how come our first response to burdens and trials of our own is to try to shed them? When the storm hits, why do we immediately pray for the calm? It's as if we think anything that makes us feel bad is straight from hell and it is God's responsibility to rid us of it. "Okay, God, you said to call out in my day of trouble. Well, I'm in trouble, so, a little help."
"As to thy burden, be content to bear it until thou comest to the place of deliverance; for there it will fall from thy back of itself." --John Bunyan
Shouldn't our first response be to pray about the reason for the burden before we slap the "yucky" label on it? Are we so comfortable and arrogant that we think we are above sweating it out, even when God deems it necessary?
Jesus carried with Him the knowledge of His coming death and all that He would suffer prior to it. But, with all His power, He still walked directly toward it. He knew that what lay on the other side was worth the struggle. I wonder if many Christians today deny themselves the blessings that come from bearing burdens because they look to quick-fixes for deliverance rather than letting the purposes and plans of God play out?
Just thinkin' out loud. Happy Monday.
