January 2023
A Case for Growth
January 02, 2023
Photo by Bruce Hong on Unsplash
Repost from 2010
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. – Luke 2:40
Jesus grew.
He was not born strong, wise, and full of grace.
He was born who He was: the Son of God, but the Son of God, God the Son had emptied Himself and taken on Himself the form of a servant.
Therefore, it was required that He submit to the process of maturation physically, emotionally, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually.
We, when we were children, often wanted the privileges of adults. When we became adults, we longed for the care free life we enjoyed as children.
Seldom have we relished the gut-wrenching, humiliating, submissive, and painful experiences that are sometimes associated with growing up. In the quest to avoid some of these, there are among us those who have never grown up or have failed to do so in some selected areas of life.
Jesus grew. He became strong, wiser, and more gracious. He did it in stages and through steady progression. He did through challenges and changes, and choices.
He embraced the opportunities to grow and cherished the wisdom that was available through the synagogue and temple and the teaching of His parents.
Jesus grew.
Are you growing? You cannot stay where you are. You will either be spiraling up or spiraling down in the strength, wisdom, and grace.
You can become weaker by not growing stronger. You can indeed become less wise by refusing to grow wiser.
You can become colder and more indifferent by not becoming a channel for God’s grace to flow through you.
The choice, as always, is yours. What will it be – growth or decline?
Keep growing, not old, but freely and deeply!
The Bread of Life
January 02, 2023
“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst…“ - John 6:25
What child is this? During the season, it is a legitimate question.
Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the temple for dedication where they met Anna and Simeon who look upon him adoringly and blessed him.
However, neither Christmas nor any Sunday, nor Epiphany is “International Babies Day” where we affirm the essential goodness and hope that gathers around each new birth. That would be fine, but we are dealing with something far more significant than that.
Our lives are at stake.
We celebrate the advent of life itself. Jesus is the Bread of Life without whom we slowly whither into lifeless shells of animated emptiness. He is the food that sustains. He is the source of our energy, the giver of nurture, and the fount of health. He feeds us and we grow.
He has always been the bread of life. Through him, the Father created all things and through him, all things have come into existence and continue to exist.
And He is the bread that is broken for us. Not only does he impart life to us, but he lays down his very life for us.
What child is this?
“This, this is Christ the King,” the essence of “beingness,” and the glue that holds the universe together. He is no mere cute, cuddly baby. As wonderful as that may be.
He is the Bread of Life.
As you celebrate today and consider your own quest for satisfaction, consider Jesus Christ, the source of fulfillment.