Take a gander at the grave
I have that grin, the one that I wear when I am going into the fray: the uncomfortable place that we all know exists but would rather not, enter into. Death is on my mind dear one, and with tiptoeing trepidation, I dare to take a gander at the grave.
You were a little baby once
Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Emmanuel, God with us. The incarnate God, creator of the universe and all of its living beings, deigning it necessary to intercede for mankind by coming in the unlikely form of king as a newborn child. I think of us now, entering the world in the exact same format, if you will? You were a little baby once: vulnerable, susceptible, reliant upon parents, willing or otherwise, to take care of you when you could not do this for yourself. What those parents of yours did not tell you when you were a babe in arms, is how vulnerable they felt, holding you, looking at your tiny fingers and toes, gazing into your wise eyes… seeing all of eternity captured in the pools of trust, the depths of your soul reflected there.
Most glorious experience in the world
What each parent knows when they look upon their child, is a deep and incomparable love that can make or break them in an instant. All at once, the parent knows that they would and could, die for their child, taking their place, stepping into harms way if it means securing the child’s safety, his or her life. What terrifies and fractures the thinking parent into paranoid fragmented parts, is the horrid truth, that while holding a newborn child is the most glorious experience in the world, holding them tightly enough to keep them forever safe from any and all harm is well, simply put, impossible.
Jesus, born a babe. Jesus, held in the arms of his mother, loved by his earthly father. Jesus, destined to die, just like you are, just like we all are, dear reader. With your Christmas decorations still in place, your belly slightly enlarged from holiday cheer and beer, there is this quiet knowing that Easter is coming, and with it, a conscious understanding that with life, comes death too.
He is not mine
I have a son. He is precious to me. I want to hold him close and never let go. I want to walk behind him and warn him when I see danger coming his way or when I see him walking toward “it”. I want to keep him near and hold his hand and I must not, I must not… He is not mine, he belongs to another, and no matter what this parent feels and thinks, he is destined for greater things than security, safety, and the mediocrity that comes with a gated community, guarded by paranoid fear filled patrons.
Death is not the enemy in this life: fear is our enemy
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| The grave could not hold him |
Maybe I am dying dear reader? Maybe a part of me is in death throws? The part of me that believes in my own strength, my own capabilities, and ultimate super hero-ness as a protective parent? Maybe, the part of me that is being cut off from oxygen rich life, is the part that was already most dead? Jesus came as a babe. He died as a man. He trusted his Father in heaven, from time to time eternal. Time eternal has the ring of life within the words. Jesus did not remain in the grave: death did not, could not, hold him there. Jesus taught me long ago to trust in his Father, the giver and taker of life. He loves my son more than I can fathom or compete with! And maybe this is the point: I don’t dare compete with God because he has far more to offer my man-child than I ever could!
Faith is touching the eternal
Now dear one… you get to take a look at your own grave issues. While you may or may not have had the type of earthly parents that would die for you, you do have a heavenly Father that would, could, and did, take deaths sting on your behalf and in your place. Easter is about you, about me, and God loving us to the point of sacrificing his son for sin, yours and mine. Death cannot grip you when God holds you close. You are not in peril when you trust in your creator; and neither are your children. Sin includes competing with God; believing we know what is best for ourselves and our loved ones. Faith is touching the eternal as it grips us with both hands and never lets us die!
Death is not our enemy, fear is our enemy. Fear is what must be put to death, forever. Fear not, be anxious for nothing, fear not, be anxious for nothing… trust in God.
