When pain pulls down the window shade
Through which our hope might see
What if joy might be the bridge on which
We must cross to be free?
Till God in grace bends down to lift
Our earthbound looking eyes
And, we can see the mountain peaks
Over which His wings can fly
So, no hiding in the corner or
Sailing far across the seas
Don’t miss the path of joy by which
Our faith in laughter leads!
1 Corinthians 10:13b
God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability
but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape
that you may be able to endure it.
Whatif Joy? by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2021 all rights reserved
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV
After the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the wise men went home to their country, the shepherds to their fields and Mary and Joseph after a time of hiding in Egypt returned to Nazareth. But when their travels were over, the journey of Jesus had just begun. The first leg of His trip had brought Him to our world, but for the next thirty-three years Jesus walked the second leg of His journey on His way to find us. Yes, God allowed Himself to be born as a fragile baby boy, but Bethlehem’s story is only half told if we all we do is walk away from the manger scene with warm fuzzy feelings.
In reality, the path from Bethlehem’s stable to Golgotha’s hill was even farther than the one from heaven to earth. After three years of healing the sick, comforting the outcasts and showing what God’s love was really all about, Jesus was left alone. On the cross He had no one to comfort Him and no one to understand, except His Father in heaven. Then with His final breath He surrendered His life for ours. There, at the cross Jesus finished His journey as He paid for our sins with His blood. In thankful astonishment let’s trust Him with our hearts, so that our journey that began with Christmas will lead us all the way to Heaven’s door!
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law Galatians 4:4 ESV
As Christmas approaches, we think of the journeys that ended on the night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Shepherds walked down from the hills where they had been watching their flocks. Joseph and Mary had wearily journeyed ninety miles on foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We often suppose that the ones who came the farthest were the wise men who had traveled over a thousand miles. But of all who were in Bethlehem that night, no one had come further than the newborn baby they had come to worship.
The shepherds came when they heard the angels. The wise men journeyed because they saw His star appear. Mary and Joseph arrived when the time was right for the birth of the child. Today’s verse tells us that Jesus also was sent on a journey, but He left from farther than the farthest star, to come to Bethlehem. What could it have been like for Jesus to close His eyes while in the presence of angels and open them nine months later in a stable where mice rustled in the hay? When God had decided that it was the perfect day for Jesus to come, He couldn’t wait even one minute longer. Yet when Jesus was born and opened His eyes His journey had only just begun!
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