Thursday, March 20, 2008

All kinds of hope for us

I've had some great times with God lately. It is one of the best times of my day, in the morning, a couple of hours after breakfast. It is just before Haven's naptime and he's in my lap with his bottle and we are reading the Bible. The Jesus Storybook Bible, to be exact.

I haven't gotten so much from Bible reading in a while. Go ahead and laugh; it's funny to see a grown woman cry over a children's version of the story of Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I am hormonal but I (have to) believe that God speaks through that. Sometimes more clearly than ever.

The stories are beautifully clear. You do not have to have a great knowledge of Hebrew culture or history to see that each story in the Bible points to hope. Jesus was coming and did come to make a way for us to be saved from the sin in this world so that we could have a relationship with Him. He sacrificed it all for us. His son. The magnitude of that is something I have only started to grasp since my own son was born. I cannot say that I would give him up for the sake of the world. (I imagine you're relieved that I am not God.)

My Dad mentioned recently how strange it is that Christians don't celebrate Easter as the biggest holiday of the year. We might call it the biggest holiday, but our celebration is on rank with Thanksgiving, while Christmas is in a league of it's own. Maybe it's different in some families, but that's how it has always been for me.

God's sacrifice is something that I only begin to understand. We crave a savior and somebody who will cover us. There are a ton of movies in which the hero gives his life to save others. We love that. We cry and we are stunned. I hope that the great love of God is something that you see clearly this week.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Christian Church has ALWAYS celebrated Easter as the number 1 holiday of the year. It's just that as Protestants we never knew that, and followed the American custom of making Christmas the biggie.

Emily said...

it seems to me that christmas and easter are holidays that could almost be combined... they are both about sacrifice, redemption, and rebirth. i have been trying to wrap my mind around it this week, and it is so overwhelming!

Sally Lloyd-Jones said...

Hi Jen
I came across your great post via a google alert thingy and just wanted to say I'm so glad to hear how much you're enjoying The Jesus Storybook Bible. It's God's incredible story and what a blessing to be part of re-telling it for children--and adults, too.

happy Easter!

He is Risen!

Sally
(PS you may be interested to know of some resources at my site on the book--including some audio of me reading the stories--as well as interviews and reviews, etc. and some other fun books too that you and Haven may enjoy)