Christmas... A Time of Pain?

While listening to Christmas songs on the radio, a phrase from Mercy Me's Gloria caught my attention. "How could Heaven's heart not break on the day that You came?" At first, it didn't sound right. I thought surely heaven would have been ringing with joy. After all, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, had been born to man. The mission had begun.

And yet, the mission was not a fun one. The Son of God, God Himself, who is holy and pure above all that we can imagine, came down to an earth shrouded in sin and darkness. He took on the physical, emotional, and psychological aspect of man. If that wasn't enough, He would have to face the challenges of infancy, childhood and adulthood, encountering temptations on a human level, yet without sinning. His holy perfection would be doubted, and His name smeared.

The very idea of His being the King would take Him straight to death by torture. The same men He came to save would spit on Him, slap Him, crown Him with thorns, pierce Him, and commit the sin of murder as they crucified Him. He would descend into hell, the place of eternal separation from God. His birth marked the beginning of the greatest pain ever experienced.

Did heaven cry over the pain of Christ? Or did they rejoice, knowing the victorious end to Christ's time on earth? Perhaps both.

God's sovereignty orchestrated such awfulness... such sin... such pain. Yet, God's sovereignty does not override His inseparable love. I think we can safely say His heart ached... perhaps He cried... as Christ knelt in the garden and bled through the immense struggle of knowing what was coming and not wanting to experience it.

Often times in our walk on earth, we meet with life draining, heart piercing pain. We may find ourselves, as Christ did, on our face before God, begging to have the cup removed from us. When we find God's sovereignty has given us more than we can bear, we must remember God cries with us. He has not turned His face away from us. He has not left us hopeless.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can separate us from His love. And He has promised, "All things work together for good, to those who love God". He can see past the pain and into the goodness to come. The same sovereignty that orchastrated Christ's pain and death also orchastrated His victorious ressurection. And He will do the same for us.

May you find yourself snuggled up in the comfort of His sovereignty this coming year.

Make Your Own Magnetic Christmas Countdown

Thrifty and Thriving has posted a wonderful idea for a Christmas countdown you can make. I think it's very inventive and cute. So many options out there for the numbers. You can even print your own.