“A sword will pierce your own soul.” —Luke 2:35
Mary would see her son rejected, reviled, misunderstood, and openly abused, to the point of being gruesomely tortured and murdered. But imagine the pain of understand- ing that it was her sin, not only that of those self-righteous Pharisees and those cruel Roman executioners, that put her son through such agony on that cross.
The greater we love Him the more that sword of responsibility should wake us every day with renewed determination to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Greater still, the more acutely the pain motivates us, the more our hearts should break at the lostness of the world around us.
Thank God, of course, the Son paid the price for this pain because of His great love for both us and the Father. Thank God He gives more grace than the pain can ever dish out. But don’t run from the pain, as if the gospel didn’t require it. Let it draw you up into greater passion for Him who one day will deliver us from all of it.
------------------
The First Songs of Christmas: A 31-Day Advent Devotional: Meditations on Luke 1 & 2 ©2018 Revived Hearts Foundation
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
How can you let the pain that comes with blessing become a deeper invitation into the heart of God?