He is despised and
rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Isa 53:3
I manage to overlook many things now in my life. God has worked on my once famous temper and
taught me to let more things slide.
However, when insults or unfair treatment are directed at my children…
my blood still boils. As I sat on the
bleachers, my heart ached as I saw a hurt, aggravated look on my son’s face as
he sat on the bench. I prayed for the
coach to put him in; I wrung my hands; I twisted my hair; and fume began to
come out of my ears. I knew I needed my
own “come to Jesus” meeting, and so I abruptly left the stands and walked along
the court to the gym door hoping to calm myself down in the cold night
air. Barely outside the door, I
exclaimed, “God, do you know what they are doing to my son?” And then it hit me.
Here, I stood, an imperfect mother infuriated about her
imperfect son’s treatment over a game. My
prayerful arguments about “how hard he has worked, how good he plays, and how he
deserves more playing time” seemed so insignificant when my words rang back to
me as if from God Himself , “Do you know what they did to MY Son?” How
did that feel to God the Father? I
cannot imagine what it must have been like for the all-powerful God to watch us
so cruelly reject His Son. Jesus had
done so much more than try hard – they had seen Him walk miles of dusty roads
to heal the sick, feed the thousands, and raise the dead. Yet, they discounted all Jesus had done for
them; rejecting Him and His love for them and cried for a murderer to be spared
in His place. They spat upon Him,
ridiculed Him, and beat Him. What if
that had been my son? What if it had
been yours?
Yet, instead of wiping us all off the planet, God so loved
us, that He was pleased to give His Son for us. All the punishment we deserve was heaped upon
God’s one and only Son. The Moma Bear
in me cannot wrap my mind around that; nor can I fathom what it took for a
beaten, bloodied, rejected Jesus to utter the words, “God forgive them for they
know not what they do”.
I wonder when God gives us children and lets us so deeply feel
their heartache if He is giving us just a glimpse of how much it cost Him to
send His Son. Perhaps He allows our
children to suffer unfair treatment so we might teach them more about what our
Savior endured and how very much He loves them. Perhaps God wants His children to be less
like a Moma Bear and more like Himself – loving the unlovely, not returning
evil for evil, exhibiting patience and grace.
Maybe it is especially in hard circumstances that the world can see
something different in those of us who call ourselves Christians. Maybe it is then that they will see
Jesus.
He
is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely
He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:3-5
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