Yesterday we all heard the news of the heinous actions of a young man that took the lives of 28 people, 20 of them young children. We were shocked, saddened, & angered. I found myself thankful that my granddaughter goes to a school that keeps all doors locked to outsiders.
This morning I read an article which stated investigators are trying to put all the pieces together. I wondered if we truly will ever have all the pieces. I switched from the news to Scripture, deciding to read the story of the birth of Jesus. There I should find hope, something upbeat. I read & realized that I have, at times, overlooked some key elements.
We concentrate on the manger, the birth, the star, the wise men, the gifts. But something occurred right after the wise men depart from the manger. Joseph is warned, through a dream, to flee with Mary & the baby, Jesus. Joseph flees that very night.
Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in & around Bethlehem who were two years old & under based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.
Matthew 2:16,17 NLT
That was the world that Jesus was born. Can we even begin to imagine the panic that set in? Little boys being taken from their homes, perhaps ripped from the very arms of their mothers who were trying to protect their little ones. Mourning filled that little town of Bethlehem.
The mass murdering of little boys.
And Jesus came to be light in the midst of that darkness. He came to be hope in the midst of hopelessness. He came & lived & died to be our Savior.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy & find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15,16 NIV
He experienced all that we experience. He KNOWS what it is like to doubt God, to question His activity. He KNOWS what it is to wonder if God has left us, abandoned us & left us to ourselves. He KNOWS. He KNOWS we are weak & frail & will be tempted with our questions about God in times like these. And He made a way. The way to make it through these times.
We approach the throne of grace with confidence.
We come to God with our doubts. With our questions. With our pain. With our grief. With our anger. With our fear.
We approach the throne of grace with confidence.
Why?
“So that we may receive the grace & mercy to help us in our time of need.”
