I hear the question every December: “Is Christmas Really Jesus’ Birthday?”
In short, yes and no.
The argument, as I see it, is less about Christmas and more about December 25th.
Many people believe that Christmas is actually based on Saturnalia, a pagan festival for Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and time. This festival began as a single day held on December 17 yet by the first century before Christ, it had expanded to a seven day festival. Saturnalia was a holiday for everyone, even the enslaved. Homes were decorated with wreaths and greenery. Saturnalia led to another Roman holiday connected to the winter solstice which recognized the birthday of the Roman sun god Sol Invictus.
On the other hand, some theologians believe that the Annunciation (when the angel Gabriel shared with Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God) took place on March 25. Therefore, since the average term of a human pregnancy is 9 months, the due date for the Messiah must have been December 25.
The Roman Emperor Constantine was raised in the cult of the Unconquered Sun God and most likely celebrated Saturnalia and worshiped Sol Invictus. However, Constantine converted to Christianity in 312. Shortly after, he declared it the official religion of the Roman empire. He made a conscious effort in turning the culture of his day away from paganism and toward Christ. Because of his influence, western Christians began celebrating Christmas (Christ Mass) on December 25 in 336. Constantine’s efforts were continued by Pope Julius 1st, who declared in 385 that Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, would be observed on December 25.
So, when was Jesus born? Lee Strobel, author of The Case For Christmas, states that it must have been in the spring because shepherds were watching their flocks by night, which they would have done in the spring when ewes bore their young.
That makes sense to me.
But does it really matter?
Several years ago, my wife wished our niece a happy birthday on her actual birthday. “Thank you,” she replied, “But my mom changed my birthday this year so tell me again this coming Saturday.” Her mother didn’t really change her birthday, just the time of the celebration of her birthday. But we still had cake and presents and sang “Happy Birthday” to her on the day of celebration.
Point being, the date didn’t change the importance of our niece’s birthday. In a similar way, we celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December, knowing full well He could have just as well been in March, April, or August. Celebrating the birth of Jesus is what’s important, not the date.
But what about those practices that came along with Saturnalia? Are we somehow worshiping the sun god as we hang our wreaths, drape our garland, go caroling in our neighborhoods, and exchange gifts?
I believe the answer lies in intentions.
It’s doubtful, at least to me, that the ancient Roman Christians were trying to trick us all into worshiping the sun. They were most likely seeking an alternative to Saturnalia and wanted to focus on Jesus instead of the pagan god, so they began celebrating Christmas instead. Overtime, the intent of Saturnalia was overtaken by the celebration of Jesus’ birth. In a sense, this festive time of the year was redeemed by these early saints.
There are probably some people who hang their decorations and celebrate Saturnalia instead of Christmas, but that is not my intent. I imagine it’s not your intent either.
I normally would have been asleep, but my wife was on a work trip,
and I was so engrossed in my projects that I had forgotten to go to bed.
Suddenly, I heard scratching at my window.
Then, the door handle began turning…on its own.
I froze.
“Someone. Is. Trying. To. Come. Inside.”
I watched in silence. I didn’t talk. I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe.
The door handle turned again up and down.
“Hello, Fear.”
I heard mumbled cursing from outside.
“God, please let the deadbolt hold firm.
Then, the intruder began pounding on the door.
“Lord Jesus…”
“Who is it?” I asked.
After a moment, someone answered, “It’s me.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to let me in,” he answered.
I paused for a moment, then replied, “No… go away.”
“LET ME IN!” he yelled as he pounded the door.
“Hello, Terrified.”
“I’m calling the police!” I cried. “Go away!”
I heard him step back.
I looked through the peephole and was glad that I didn’t see a gun pointing at me. What I saw was two men, obviously intoxicated, checking the doors of my neighbors.
I called the police. When they finally arrived, they saw nothing and left.
As if on cue, when the police leave, the bad guys return to my door, demanding to be let in,
Once again, I called the police.
Once again, the bad guys leave.
Second verse, same as the first…the police arrive, search the bushes, shrug their shoulders, and tell me to keep my door locked and to not let anyone inside.
“Oh, ok,” I responded dumbly as if I was going to set out drinks and a charcuterie board for the bad guys.
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep at all that night.
Instead, I sat on the sofa and watched the door handle…
All. Night. Long.
Fortunately, the drunk guys finally left and I was ok, but there’s a bigger issue for me.
Here I am, a holy, Spirit-filled man of God. I’ve surrendered my life to the Lord, dedicated my life to serving Him, I read God’s Word and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit – I allowed myself to fall prey to fear.
With God on my side, I’ve faced challenges and frightening people time and again, from Post Soviet Central Asia to inner city New Orleans and every in between, and the Lord helped me through each one.
And yet here I was, frozen in fear, losing sleep, watching the handle of the door.
I was like Elijah, who having just defeated hundreds of prophets of Baal, ran in fear because of the threats of Jezebel. In the midst of fear and self-pity, this is what Elijah experienced:
“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire but in a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12 NKJV
Elijah found the Lord in the still, small voice.
God spoke to Elijah through a whisper.
He was able to do so because He was close.
When we are afraid, as I was that night, we should call on the Lord and then remember that He’s already there, right beside us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
He loves us.
Even in the scary times.
Even when the bad guy is getting closer and the door handle is turning.
Have you noticed that many newer houses are transparent?
I don’t mean invisible, I mean you can see right through them because of the windows.
One new house in my neighborhood has a new painted brick privacy fence around their backyard. (Yeah, they painted the bricks right away. Why do people do that?)
I assume the owners don’t want others gawking at them as they swim in their pool, lounge on their deck, or soak in their hot tub. Their painted brick privacy fence ensures that their next door and backyard neighbors won’t see them while they are in their backyard, that is, unless they walk in front of their home. Through the front windows, which cover the entire front of the house, the entire back yard, including the pool, deck, and hot tub can be seen from the front sidewalk, not to mention the entire living room, kitchen, and dining area.
Many houses now also allow passersby to view their staircase 24/7. (I guess this means no more late night refrigerator raids in your underwear).
At least you can’t see into the closets or the bathrooms… Or can you?
Houses are now often built with “bonus” windows, allowing outsiders a view of their ceilings of certain closets and bathrooms. I don’t know about you, but if I’m changing clothes or making use of the facilities, I’m not interested in people being able to view any part of my closets or bathrooms (you know, in case there are hidden cameras or strategically placed mirrors).
Finally, I think people have started building themselves like these houses – There’s a high backyard privacy fence and a state of the art security system which you’re definitely going to need because everyone (neighbors, postal employees, friends, weirdos, and bad guys) can see everything of value through their front Instagrammable windows.
Someone once said that “Transparency is sharing my imperfections with others.” Not many of us accomplish this well. We build brick walls around our secrets and insecurities, not realizing that the front doors of our lives which we designed to show off our we’ve-got-it-all-together-ness are betraying us.
King David, after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, plotted the death of her husband, built his own brick wall to cover his sin. But after being confronted by Nathan the prophet, he finally confessed his sin to the Lord in full transparency.
He prayed: “For I was born a sinner-yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But You desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.” (Psalm 51:5-6)
Truth produces many benefits, emotional, physical, relational, and spiritual.
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free,” (John 8:32)
Truth leads to transparency. Having nothing to hide will help us withstand whatever trials and tests that may come our way.
“You can’t be here without a name tag!” snapped the lady in front of us.
My wife and I were visiting a park in Long Beach, Mississippi when we happened upon a group of tables covered with house plants. We thought they were for sale. We were wrong.
The offended lady pursed her lips. “You are walking through a private gathering of our plant exchange club. The only way you can participate is by having a nametag.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We didn’t realize. There were no signs, so we thought it was some kind of farmer’s market.”
“Well, it’s not,” she remarked. “And since you don’t have a nametag, you’ll have to leave.”
As we turned to exit, we noticed a woman waving us to her table.
“Hi,” she said. “We have one more plant to trade or sell. Would you take it so we could leave?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “But we were just told we had to leave because we didn’t have a nametag.”
She knowingly smiled and shook her head.
“Nonsense,” she said. “Now this Aloe vera plant is yours if you want it. But, it comes with a story that you must hear if you’re going to take it.”
We were hooked.
“What’s the story?” I asked.
“Well,” she smiled. “This is Jimmy Buffet’s Aloe vera plant.”
“Does he know you have it?” asked my wife.
“Yes,” she laughed. “I grew up in the country down the road from Jimmy’s grandma near Pascagoula, Mississippi. She had a lot of these plants behind her house. After she passed, they were blown over and the pots broke. By the time Jimmy visited and we walked across the property, the plants were about to die. He told me I could have them if I wanted them. I saved a few and this is one of its descendants. Would you like it?”
“How much?” I asked.
“It’s free as long as you agree to tell your friends you have Jimmy Buffet’s Aloe Vera plant.”
Which is what I’m doing right now.
Today, I learned that Jimmy Buffet passed away peacefully on September 1st. I’m sorry for his family. I’ve listened to some of his music, but the truth is, I had to remind myself of his songs by opening Spotify. Margaritaville, Brown-Eyed Girl, It’s Five O-Clock Somewhere, and Cheeseburger in Paradise were a few songs I remembered well.
In case you’re interested, Jimmy Buffet’s Aloe vera plant has completed several propagations. We have at least five or six pots with its offspring. I’m not surprised his grandma’s neighbor was trying to give one away. They multiply really fast.
And to think, we almost missed it because we didn’t have a name tag.
It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.
This is the lesson I learned on New Years Day of Y2K.
Y2K is the abbreviation for the Year 2000. It referred to computer problems expected when the 1999 changed to 2000.
Nothing of note happened that day around the world.
However, where I lived a truck drove into the electrical plant and shut off everyone’s power.
This was before most people had mobile phones, so I was convinced that power outage was worldwide. I jumped into my Cutlass Supreme and started it up.
A Cutlass Supreme was a midsize car produced by Oldsmobile from the mid 60’s to mid 90’s.
So, back to the story…
Uh, Oldsmobile was a 20th century automobile brand which produced over 35 million cars.
Anyway, I drove off to see if things were impacted beyond my street.
I quickly drove into the Kmart parking lot.
Uh, well, Kmart was an American chain of department stores.
However, the lights were already off and the doors were locked.
So, I drove across the street because I saw a car at the Blockbuster Video.
Um, Blockbuster was a video rental store chain which ceased operations in 2014.
You know, they had VHS and DVD rentals
Yeah, VHS stands for Video Home System which plays movies on large black cassettes.
So, anyway…uh, DVD stood for Digital Video Disc. It ended up replacing the VHS tape.
Anyway, since the power was out, I went home and ate my leftover tacos from Chi-Chi’s.
ChiChi’s was a Mexican food restaurant chain in the 80’s and 90’s.
I washed them down with a bottle of Fruitopia.
Fruitopia was a beverage of “fruit integration” which went away in the early 2000’s.
Finally, the electricity came back on, so I kicked back and watched Freaks and Geeks.
Freak and Geeks was a one season show about a 1980’s high school which launched the careers of Seth Rogen, James Franco, Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, and Busy Phillips. Even though it was incredibly popular, it was canceled after one season. But I’m not bitter.
Ok, whatever. I guess things really have changed a lot.
Last year, my wife noticed she had a skin condition. When it didn’t clear up, she saw a doctor. In fact, over the next three months, she visited six doctors, some multiple times, including two dermatologists. One said she had dry skin. Another said she had contact dermatitis. A third was certain it was shingles. Finally, Doctor #7, aka Dermatologist #3, ran a series of tests because he suspected she had Celiac disease.
Celiac is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the ingestion of gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley) leads to damage in the small intestine. In other words, when my wife eats gluten, her body goes on the offensive against itself and mounts a serious immune response which attacks and damages her small intestine.
Dermatologist #3 said, “It might be Celiac disease. Stop eating gluten.” Then, in drop the mic fashion, he left the room.
There was no applause.
“That’s it?” my wife asked the nurse. “Is there any information that will help me be gluten-free?”
She shrugged and replied, “Don’t eat gluten.”
How insightful. 😑
The next week, Dermatologist #3’s assistant called my wife and said, “It’s confirmed. You have Celiac disease. So, stop eating gluten and start taking iron pills.
Even though we expected it, my wife didn’t expect such an abrupt call. She asked the nurse if she could send the information about the diagnosis and further instructions over the hospital portal so she could read over it thoroughly. Later that day, she received the following message over the portal:
“You have Celiac disease. Take iron pills.”
Doctor #7 then referred Kathy to a rheumatologist (Doctor #8). He confirmed her diagnosis and said, “Act like you have an extreme allergy. Rid your home of gluten. You can’t even smell bread.”
Back at home, I went through our kitchen to rid it of gluten. I carried a big box of glutenized items to my office. Apparently, we were living in Gluten Central.
But no more. We now live in a gluten-free home.
Some people have said to me, “You can have gluten in your home. She just can’t eat it.” That’s true, but since it’s just the two of us, we’ve found it easier just to be gluten free at home. I don’t want her to have to read labels at home before she eats.
We’ve learned a lot over the last year. My wife took an online course, visited specialists, we both met with counselors, and we even went on a cruise designed for people with Celiac (check it out at www.celiaccruise.com. It was great.)
Living with Celiac has been a huge shift in our lives. Do I miss gluten at home? Sure, but I’m getting used to it.
Next time you’re headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama and find yourself with several hours to spare, check out Buc-ee’s off I-10 at the Robertsdale exit. I was searching for just the right words to adequately describe Buc-ee’s, so I asked Siri who pronounced it as “Buc-eeeeeeee’s” and gave me directions to Bucky’s taxidermy in Loosas Armpit, Manitoba. My Google phone app came to the rescue and offered a description. It says Buc-ee’s is “a chain of convenience stores for snacks and drinks, plus eclectic T-shirts and knickknacks.”
Way off, Google. Especially since visiting Buc-ee’s is sort of like using Google for the first time – an endless supply of ways to blow your money and waste your time while seemingly having an ok time.
Let’s take an imaginary tour of this gas station theme park named after a giant rodent. First, you start seeing Buc-ee’s billboards about 750 miles before you arrive (exaggerated). They’ll have cute sayings on them like “Only 123 miles away, you can hold it,” “Jerky, one of the five basic food groups,” and “Restrooms so clean we put mints in the urinals” (not exaggerated).
When you finally arrive at the exit, the traffic line is backed up to the interstate. (Who do they think they are, Chick Fila?) It may take 15 minutes or so to follow the leader up the ramp, around their employee parking field, past their field of Tesla charging stations, and through the bumper-to-bumper traffic until you make it to one of their 200-300 gas pumps. (Not joking, the last time I filled up, I was at pump 250. I desperately wanted to pay inside just to say “Yes, $25 on pump #250.”)
After pumping gas and parking in southern Egypt, you check your step counter and begin making your way across the parking lot. Before entering the “convenience store,” you are forced by your peers to stop and take a selfie with the statue of Buc-ee the friendly beaver. You smile because you have to, take the shot and move inside past the rows of “snacks and drinks,” and wait in line once again for some of the cleanest restrooms in convenience store history. All joking aside, they are pretty impressive. These restrooms are so clean you almost forget you’re in a mall posing as a convenience store/gas station/Tesla charging station.
Afterward, you squeeze through the crowds and check out the snacks. Buc-ee’s is famous for their breakfast tacos, beef jerky, barbecue, chicken jerky, gummies, turkey jerky, beaver nuggets, elk jerky, klobasneks (I don’t know either), Bohemian recipe Garlic beef jerky, meat and cheese cups, Bohemian Rhapsody Garlic beef jerky, Sizzlin’ saltines, deli sandwiches, trail mix jerky, Beaver chips, Buc-ee’s Nug-ee’s, pralines, double fudge brownie jerky, and banana pudding. And that’s just on aisle one.
Then of course you have to buy either a Buc-ee’s t-shirt, a disposable cooler, some hunting gear, any type of home decor, or update your life insurance (when you start to doubt you’ll ever make it out alive). Then, you finally walk across the parking lot once again to your car, where you wait in line to get out of the parking lot, get back on the interstate, and realize you already have to use the bathroom again.
All joking aside, if you’ve never visited Buc-ee’s, it is worth the experience, just try to go when it’s not so crowded, like 5:30am on a Tuesday. 😊
As of yesterday, I have officially been using the Lose It App for one year. In that time, I’ve lost and kept off 42 lbs. I’ve also wanted to throw my phone into Lake Pontchartrain 27 times, not because the app has done something wrong or malfunctioned, but because I get tired of being disciplined.
Weight loss is hard work and I’m not talking about entering the foods I eat. I mean the decision after decision to not eat something when I really want it. I mean the decision to exercise at least three times each week. I mean the extra steps I take when I really want to veg out in front of the tv. I mean the decisions to skip dinner when I’ve already used up my calories for the day.
It’s been a long year of hard work (with a little bit of cheating) but all in all, I’m glad I decided to use Lose It. It’s been a disciplined route to weight loss without pills, without shots, without surgery, and without anything weird. Just tracking diet and exercise with a longterm goal in mind.
It works, so I renewed it yesterday for another year.
Each year on Good Friday at Celebration Church in New Orleans, we do a more interactive type of service with various dramatic elements. I typically share the outline on my blog after the service happens for reference by others. I hope you find it helpful, or at least interesting.
Communion Introduction: How many of you are thankful that the Lord has made a way that we could be brought out of darkness into glorious light? When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he cried, “Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) We’re about to observe a special time of worship where we remember how Jesus, as the Lamb of God, paid the price for our sin on the cross. Some people call this observance communion. Some people call it the Lord’s Supper. Some people call it the Lord’s Table. Whatever you call it, one thing is certain. It’s about Him. It’s His communion. It’s His Supper. It’s His communion. He instituted it at the Last Supper while He was observing Passover with His disciples the night before He was betrayed.
The Bible says that “When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, ‘I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins” (Luke 22:14-15)
Jesus had been with His disciples for three years so He must have celebrated Passover with them before. But this time, Jesus took it further. Instead of a sacrificed animal being the focus of remembrance, He was the focus of remembrance.
The Bible says, “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (Luke 22:14-15)
(Lead the people to take the bread)
After supper he took another cup of wine and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people – an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out for you.” Do this in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19-20)
(Lead the people to take the juice – give them instructions about their cups)
Speaker: The Bible teaches us that “Accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There He told them, ‘Pray that you will not give in to temptation.’ He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine.’ Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. (Luke 22:39-44)
Is it possible for someone to sweat blood? It’s very rare, but it is possible. The condition is called hematidrosis. It happens when extreme physical or emotional stress causes blood vessels that surround the sweat glands to rupture and blood is lost through the sweat glands. That’s the type of anguish Jesus was going through.
Can you imagine the type of anguish Jesus was going through? He knew what was about to happen if everything continued. He knew He was the sinless Lamb of God. He knew He was about to be betrayed and denied by His closest friends. He knew He was about to be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. If it would have been us, we would have run away. But He didn’t. Instead, He submitted to His Father’s will.
GARDEN TO THE CROSS SECTION
What happened next must have seemed like a hurricane of activity:
(Read through the next section, only expounding when necessary)
While Jesus was in agony, His disciples were asleep.
Except for Judas, who appeared with a mob and betrayed Jesus with a kiss
Jesus was arrested and taken to the high priest’s house where Peter, the Rock, denied Him three times before the rooster crowed.
Then Jesus was blindfolded and was mocked and beaten by the guards who cried out, “Prophesy! Who hit you?”
He was given a mockery of a trial before Pilate who said, “I find no basis for your charges against Him.
But when given the choice to release Him, the crowd shouted “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
He was whipped, He was beaten
A Crown of Thorns was shoved on His head.
He was forced to carry the very cross on which He was to be crucified.
CROSS SECTION
The Bible says that, “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals – one on His right, the other on His left.” (Luke 23:32)
Crucifixion often meant binding or nailing someone to a cross and letting them die slowly. This is what they did with Jesus. They took three nails (hold the nails out), possibly like this, and nailed Him to the cross.
They drove a nail through one hand into the cross (hit the nails together three times)
They drove another nail through his other hand into the cross (hit the nails together three times)
Finally, they drove a final nail through his feet into the cross (hit the nails together three times)
The cross was raised and Jesus hung there for the world to see.
The Bible says, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 22:44-46 ESV)
Jesus was dead. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world was sacrificed there for you and for me. He lived a totally sinless life and was a sacrifice worthy of eternal forgiveness. So, come to the cross and behold the Lamb.
The Cross Video (Video created by Passion City Church – linked to the left)
(When the video ends, the decision Song Behold the Lamb begins.
DECISION TIME
From the time of the first Passover, the Israelites understood God can deliver us from judgment for our sin through the sacrifice of a substitute, even though no animal sacrifice was sufficient for eternal forgiveness. Over 1200 years later, John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross so we could be forgiven of our sins and live with Him forever. We all have a need to come to the cross and behold the Lamb.
We all have a need for Him – “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23)
We all deserve punishment for our sin, but God has made a way for us – “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
He gave His Son for us because He loves us – “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8)
Admit to God that you are a sinner – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We must confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts – “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him for the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
We must surrender ourselves to the Lord, making Him Lord of our lives – “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)
Jesus surrendered Himself for you. What will you surrender of yourself for Him?
Will you give your life to Him as Savior and Lord?
Will you finally surrender those sinful habits to Him?
Will you start tithing or giving to the Lord?
Will you be willing to serve Him however He might ask?
Will you honor Him with your relationships?
Will you surrender to Him by finally sharing His love with your family?
Will you be honest at work, or with your taxes, or with your spouse?
Will you surrender yourself to vocational Christian service?
Is there something else you are willing to surrender to the Lord today? While the music plays, take time to pray, thanking the Lord for His sacrifice and asking Him what you should give to Him. Then, if you’re willing, write it out on your special Good Friday Communication Card you received when you entered tonight.
At this year’s Academy Awards, the movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once won lots of Oscars. I know nothing about the movie, but I can relate to the title. It seems like now, more than ever, everything comes at us from all sides all at the same time. We try to balance marriage, family, work, home, finances, and multiple crisis situations all at once. It’s like comedian Jim Gaffigan says, “Just imagine you’re drowning and then someone hands you a baby.”
Life today really does seem like Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.
When I feel this way, when I think no one understands, I remember the Lord Jesus. He had days when He was so exhausted from speaking, healing, ministering, and teaching, that He literally fell asleep and stayed asleep in a boat as a storm was raging around Him.
The Thursday and Friday before He was crucified was certainly like this for Jesus. He went from washing feet to breaking bread to betrayal to sweat drops of blood to arrest to denial to trial to mockery to beating to carrying His cross to nails in His hands and feet to crying out “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsake Me?”
It must have been so stressful for Jesus to truly experience Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, especially when He was sacrificing Himself for Everyone, Everywhere, All At Once. We learn from the Bible that He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed. (1 Peter 2:24). His death was sufficient to cover the sins of the world. His sacrifice was done once for all and will never have to be repeated.
On this Good Friday, let’s remember the price our Lord and Savior paid, once for all, as he experienced the weight of our sin, every one, everything, of people from everywhere, all at once.
JohnJFrady.com 