My heart is heavy and yet it is light. My heart sorrows and yet is full of joy. How can that be?
I see so much need, so many hurts, so many lonely and struggling. And then I see the manger and the Christ Child … I see Jesus and my heart grows light with joy.
I see the manger and the Magi and the shepherds and hear in my imagination the angelic hosts proclaiming and I am filled with pleasure. Then I remember the cross, the crown of thorns, the whipping and mocking and spitting and I mourn for a world that rejected its Savior.
The cross gives way to the empty tomb. I see the surprise on the faces of the disciples, I see the delight in a mother who embraces a son that she thought was forever gone from her. I rejoice in a life that death cannot conquer.
And I see a world that still does not know its salvation, a world that abides in turmoil and struggles. I see the homeless man leaning on his cane outside the Dollar Store, fearful even to make eye contact with me as I go by. I see the children who have nothing and expect nothing even during this time of year. And my heart breaks.
But deep inside I hear the prophet remind me. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.” [Isa 9:6]
The government—the rule—is on His Shoulders, not mine. I can allow my heart to break with the things that break His and rejoice in the things that give Him delight. My Savior, my LORD, loves me. And He loves you. Today, that is enough.
