DAY 161

MADE FOR ETERNITY

2 Chronicles 34, 35 & 36 and John 19:1-22

We read the parallel account of this Old Testament story on May 15, day 135. It is a remarkable story, the King “Chopped down” the altars of Baal…and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. Later he “Found the Book” and celebrated the Passover. I titled that day’s blog “Is it always supposed to turn out right.” I chose that title because within two generations the nation was lost.

Sometimes life does not turn out the way we hope, but that is not the message of the Bible. The message of the Scripture is that we are made for eternity. It is not that our time on earth is all “doom and gloom.” In this life we are to experience life: joy, love, peace…and yes, sorrow, pain, and even death. There is nothing wrong with us seeking good things in life…we just need to not hold onto them too tight…for we are made for eternity.

Today in the New Testament we read for the fourth time Jesus’ crucifixion. It is more than sobering. I have in earlier posts explored the theology of this moment. Today, rather than theology, I am just struck by the pain of it. Jesus stands with us, humanity, experiencing all the hurt and rejection and pain. Isaiah 53 prophesizes exactly this difficult reality.

He was despised and rejected by others;
   a man of suffering^* and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces^*
   he was despised, and we held him of no account. 
Surely he has borne our infirmities
   and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
   struck down by God, and afflicted. 
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
   crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
   and by his bruises we are healed…Isaiah 53

When you and I pray to God, we are praying to someone who has been in those moments of your life where you have been. Someone who lived life, who laughed, who went to weddings (and funerals), and someone who loved his disciples, but knew he would have to physically leave them…because He and they and all of us are made for eternity.