Merry Christmas! What a relief! The light has come into the world. Somehow, every Advent, as well as Lent, the Holy Spirit wants to take me on a journey. They are usually pretty tough journeys. This Advent has been quite a sorrowful journey as I have encountered people who are suffering as well as those who are busy inflicting suffering.
The Psalmist writes that he saw the prosperity of the wicked, that they have no struggles. I assure you that struggles come to us all, rich or poor or in-between. Evil has no preference. Evil does not discriminate. I definitely would advise against emulating the wicked so that you might be prosperous. Not, a good idea!
Yesterday, as I prepared for Worship, I noticed that my shoulders were hunched forward, as though they were trying to bear a heavy weight upon them. I was tired. As the evening drew nearer, I thought of all the people I had spoken to, all that I had encountered this past four weeks and a heavy sadness came over me. I realized that I had taken in so much negativity; I had been in contact with so much evil, so much pain and suffering, some self-inflicted, some not, that I was, in part, feeling the weight of their burdens. It was exhausting. I certainly was not envying those who are arrogant or evil. I was not thinking about how blessed others are. I was thinking about how much sorrow and pain and suffering I have witnessed in the last month in both those who suffered as well as those who might cause others to suffer. I was, also, thinking how blessed are those who know the LORD. I assure you, the spirits of those who do not know the LORD and cause others to suffer, do not prosper. They might look like it on the outside. The world might see prosperity, but on the inside they are alone and afraid. The darkness overwhelms them.
Do not envy those who appear to prosper and do not know the LORD. Look, listen, open your hearts to a greater understanding of what it must be like to attempt to live in their world, without knowledge of the LORD. Can you imagine living in darkness every minute, every day of your life? When we do that, when we can begin to feel, just a little, of the pain that even our persecutor's might feel, we will then realize how blessed we truly are in the knowledge of God. And... we might even learn to have a bit more empathy for those who are stuck in the darkness of their own sins. We might even learn to pray for our enemy!
Can you imagine living in darkness for perpetuity? That is the inheritance of those who would serve themselves rather than God.
The good news is that the light has come into this world. It is Christmas morning and we celebrate a little baby born in a manger in Bethlehem to be our Savior.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-3 NIV)
And...
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:19-21)
Let us pray that those who walk in the darkness will come into the light.
Merry Christmas! Pr. J
The Psalmist writes that he saw the prosperity of the wicked, that they have no struggles. I assure you that struggles come to us all, rich or poor or in-between. Evil has no preference. Evil does not discriminate. I definitely would advise against emulating the wicked so that you might be prosperous. Not, a good idea!
Yesterday, as I prepared for Worship, I noticed that my shoulders were hunched forward, as though they were trying to bear a heavy weight upon them. I was tired. As the evening drew nearer, I thought of all the people I had spoken to, all that I had encountered this past four weeks and a heavy sadness came over me. I realized that I had taken in so much negativity; I had been in contact with so much evil, so much pain and suffering, some self-inflicted, some not, that I was, in part, feeling the weight of their burdens. It was exhausting. I certainly was not envying those who are arrogant or evil. I was not thinking about how blessed others are. I was thinking about how much sorrow and pain and suffering I have witnessed in the last month in both those who suffered as well as those who might cause others to suffer. I was, also, thinking how blessed are those who know the LORD. I assure you, the spirits of those who do not know the LORD and cause others to suffer, do not prosper. They might look like it on the outside. The world might see prosperity, but on the inside they are alone and afraid. The darkness overwhelms them.
Do not envy those who appear to prosper and do not know the LORD. Look, listen, open your hearts to a greater understanding of what it must be like to attempt to live in their world, without knowledge of the LORD. Can you imagine living in darkness every minute, every day of your life? When we do that, when we can begin to feel, just a little, of the pain that even our persecutor's might feel, we will then realize how blessed we truly are in the knowledge of God. And... we might even learn to have a bit more empathy for those who are stuck in the darkness of their own sins. We might even learn to pray for our enemy!
Can you imagine living in darkness for perpetuity? That is the inheritance of those who would serve themselves rather than God.
The good news is that the light has come into this world. It is Christmas morning and we celebrate a little baby born in a manger in Bethlehem to be our Savior.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-3 NIV)
And...
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:19-21)
Let us pray that those who walk in the darkness will come into the light.
Merry Christmas! Pr. J
