Rest, Rocks and Longing
I stared at a painting this week. The artist depicted Jesus sitting on boulders, alone, gazing up into the morning sky. I think it must be morning because of the light mist that seems to be floating by. His hands are folded on His knees. It is a scene of yearning, longing.
When hiking, you probably remember those places where the rocks offer rest. Gratefully, you put down your burdens, your walking sticks, and sit in the peace. Perhaps there is a river below and the foliage folds over it in places. Then a bird—an osprey?—bursts out of the foliage and you watch him dive into the river for dinner.
Do you look into the vast sky above and wonder at the majesty before you?
Do you wonder about God?
Creator Turned Creature
I wonder how Jesus enjoyed the world He made—from the ant viewpoint. You know the analogy. If you want the ant to understand how much you care about him, you must become like him. Become an ant.
I wonder if He looked at flowers, maybe picked them, whirled the petals in His fingers, to examine their beauty, and their construction, from the viewpoint of a man. He must have known all the names of the wildflowers. Probably the weeds, too.
I wonder what was it like for Him to build fires, plane wood, fit together pieces to make furniture, plows or other things by hand and the sweat of His brow, when His hands once flung stars into the universe?
I wonder if He knew intimately how every piece of earth was constructed, or was it some kind of vague memory? And then He made Himself small to live on it. How strange to walk upon the ground that His hands formed from nothing.
Did these things run through His mind, or were they cloaked by His humanity?
Shared Love and Longing
Back to the painting. I saw in it the loneliness of longing. Perhaps Jesus contemplated the pain of separation from His beloved Father. Then, possibly, He pondered on their shared love for the created ones that sent Him to this place and to this destiny?
To consider the cost of sacrificing for the greater good. We humans struggle with that dilemma.
Jesus did, too. We observed Him in the Garden just before His death, struggling. Were we humans worth the separation from His Father that He knew was coming?
And then, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42 NKJV).
He counted the cost. He sacrificed. He triumphed.
And we are saved.
“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9 NKJV).
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12 NKJV).
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