Father, I would ask that Your hand would be upon our extended family. There is quite a bit of pain and in our own strength and wisdom, it is not going to improve any time soon. May we yield to You. Amen.

John 16:16-24 (<<click here to read the passage)

Almost 30 years ago, a life began. We had to wait nine months to hold him and cater to his every cry, but a wonderful life came into being. Most of Karen’s pregnancy was a time of excitement and expectation. It is recent enough in history that we could have known the gender of our child beforehand but mutually chose to be surprised!

I’m sure the latter months were more uncomfortable in that they took place in the heat of summer but again the joy of it all took precedence.

When it came time for him to make his grand appearance, he took his good ol’ time. Karen ended up having two epidurals and they were on the verge of taking him by C-section, but at the last moment, he decided he was ready. Altogether she was in labor for 27 hours. And as any mother will tell you, it was a hard 27 hours full of pain and a fair amount of suffering.

Karen has teased Massey about it over the years but once the birth took place and she held him in her arms for the first time, all the pain and suffering became a thing of the past. Joy took its place and continues to do so!

Jesus likened his pending death and resurrection to a mother giving birth. Obviously, His pain and suffering culminated in His death, causing those who loved Him to weep and mourn. Oddly enough the world rejoiced in His death, thinking they were victorious over this interloper who they saw as too full of Himself and not enough benefit to fulfill their aspirations for what they thought He should be.

But, and we can surely praise the Father, that was by no way the “end” but just the beginning of eternal victory! Within three short days of His death, their grief turned suddenly to wonderful joy and Jesus emerged as conqueror of death and the grave. Sin no longer held sway but fell to God in all of His strength and might never to hold the power it once did over all of creation! Jesus’ resurrection showed that which was already truth – Jesus is sovereign over all! Nothing…absolutely nothing! …can take that away. Jesus Christ – the Messiah – reigns for always! And all of creation, like it or not, bows at His feet in acknowledgment of Who He is!

Oct 6th, 2021, Wed, 7:05 pm