Yesterday was another fine day.
All but the ending, that is.
My priorities were solid. Spent time with the Lord and the body of Christ in prayer and worship. Did what needed to be done, but in the right order. Put Jesus and family first.
But I allowed a "Scrooge" to shake my serenity at the end of the day.
Why does there always have to be a Scrooge stomping around and making everybody miserable?
Maybe for the same reason Caesar and Herod threw their weight around during the first Christmas celebration.
The former did his best to keep Christ's homeland under oppression and taxation that could have ruined day to day life for His parents, had they allowed it. But instead they continued with their lives, preparing for the business of marriage and family building, with the understanding that a sovereign God was in control and in charge of their futures, present circumstances notwithstanding.
The latter took things a step further, using all the resources at his disposal in an effort to make sure the Savior never got a chance to do what He came to earth to do.
Both thugs used their respective power in such a way that kept Jesus's family on the go and even on the run.
Talk about "Bah, Humbug."
Think donkey travel (or foot travel, as some suggest would have been faster because of the ass's reputation for stubbornness) in the final months of pregnancy.
Yours truly spent a few hours on a train and a plane in my ninth month, which gave new meaning to the word "misery." I can only imagine the fun expectant Mary enjoyed on the back of a brute beast (or trekking on pregnancy-swollen feet) for days on end.
Think midnight flight to another country with a toddler, on pain of death.
True, He was the Son of God, but still.
The Bible says a servant is no greater than his master. So why should I expect my Christmas to be all glittery and magical when His was full of disadvantage and death threats?
Kind of puts things in a different perspective.
All but the ending, that is.
My priorities were solid. Spent time with the Lord and the body of Christ in prayer and worship. Did what needed to be done, but in the right order. Put Jesus and family first.
But I allowed a "Scrooge" to shake my serenity at the end of the day.
Why does there always have to be a Scrooge stomping around and making everybody miserable?
Maybe for the same reason Caesar and Herod threw their weight around during the first Christmas celebration.
The former did his best to keep Christ's homeland under oppression and taxation that could have ruined day to day life for His parents, had they allowed it. But instead they continued with their lives, preparing for the business of marriage and family building, with the understanding that a sovereign God was in control and in charge of their futures, present circumstances notwithstanding.
The latter took things a step further, using all the resources at his disposal in an effort to make sure the Savior never got a chance to do what He came to earth to do.
Both thugs used their respective power in such a way that kept Jesus's family on the go and even on the run.
Talk about "Bah, Humbug."
Think donkey travel (or foot travel, as some suggest would have been faster because of the ass's reputation for stubbornness) in the final months of pregnancy.
Yours truly spent a few hours on a train and a plane in my ninth month, which gave new meaning to the word "misery." I can only imagine the fun expectant Mary enjoyed on the back of a brute beast (or trekking on pregnancy-swollen feet) for days on end.
Think midnight flight to another country with a toddler, on pain of death.
True, He was the Son of God, but still.
The Bible says a servant is no greater than his master. So why should I expect my Christmas to be all glittery and magical when His was full of disadvantage and death threats?
Kind of puts things in a different perspective.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him."
- John: 13:16
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