This is the last post of Lent 2016. This project has been such a pleasure! I hope you will join us next year and each year after, as we meet in the middle here, during Lent.
His Body was Broken for You
This is Holy Week — the time when Christians commemorate the week leading up to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ — when He was broken for you and for me. Here at the Meet Me in the Middle Project we have been thinking of how the in-between times, the times of waiting, point to this important event.
Life is full of waiting. The Bible is full of waiting too. The people of Israel were waiting for a Messiah. Jesus was waiting to fulfill the prophecies. His disciples were waiting for His Kingdom to come in power and glory. The Pharisees and religious leaders were waiting for a chance to discredit Him and, finally, to kill Him. After His body was placed in the tomb, the women were waiting to anoint His dead body properly. And God was waiting for just the right time to demonstrate His love and power by creating the most unlikely solution to the problem of sin and death.
So often, we want to rush ahead of the waiting. We often hate “the middle.” I know I do. Right now, our family is at a crossroads. My husband will soon leave military life and enter the civilian world. In a few months, we will be leaving the home we have known for the last four years and settling in a new place. Our hearts are feeling restless to move on, but our bodies are still here. Some days, this in-between time feels excruciating.
Maybe someone you love has a difficult diagnosis? This is painful too. We don’t like having that “stuck” feeling because we want everything healed, fixed, and resolved, especially for the people we love. And when the diagnosis won’t come, or the healing is slow, or the illness isn’t ever going to resolve, we feel so helpless.
Some of you might be at home with little ones, wishing you could get past diapers and sleep schedules. Some of you might be aching just to hold your own little one, but your body won’t obey your orders or respect your wishes. Some of you might be looking for a special someone to share your life with, but you keep coming up empty. Often, where we find ourselves waiting is the last place we want to be.
How can we hold on to hope when the waiting goes long?
I know the answer and yet, at the same time, I don’t. I know the Truth, but I haven’t yet figured out how to stay there, peacefully. The Truth is a great encouragement nonetheless: all the threads of waiting are tied together, in Jesus.
The Arrival of Jesus is Always on Time
If we are packing the groceries in the car, the last thing we want to do is break an egg. Yet, as they say, we can’t have an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
There are times when brokenness is ordained.
Jesus was called to be broken for us. We are called to be broken for Him. And living in a fallen world means that brokenness here on earth is inevitable. In fact, God does His best work among the broken — that’s where He can just. plain. show. off. Because nothing is broken by chance. Nothing is broken without purpose. God is always working to fulfill His great and wonderful plan, on our behalf.
Easter reminds us that God is constantly ready to surprise us with His plans and His abilities to fulfill them. Are you feeling broken? Don’t worry, that means that you are poised and prepared to become what He intends for you to be.
I’m sharing this post at Kristin’s Three Word Wednesday:
