One week from today we will make another
"Passage to India". Thank you for praying for us and thank you for love and
affection. As we get ready for Easter we reflect on the "Suffering Servant"
portrayed so graphically in Isaiah 53. Max Lucado, in his story, "He Chose
the Nails" asks, “What would have happened to the Beast if the Beauty had
not appeared? We know the story. There was a time when his face was handsome
and his palace cheerful. But that was before the curse, before the shadows fell
on the castle of the prince, before the shadows fell on the heart of the
prince. And when the darkness fell, he hid. Secluded in his castle, he was
left with glistening snout and curly tusks and a very bad mood.
"But all that changed when the girl came. What would have happened to the Beast if the Beauty had not appeared? Better yet, what would have happened if she had not cared? And who would have blamed her if she hadn’t? He was such a . . . beast. Hairy. Drooling. Roaring. Defying. Ill mannered. And she was such a beauty. Stunningly gorgeous. Contagiously kind. If ever two people lived up to their names, didn’t Beauty and the Beast? Who would have blamed her if she hadn’t cared? But she did. And because Beauty loved the Beast . . ."
The story is familiar, not just because it’s an exquisite fairy tale. It is familiar, mostly because it reminds us of ourselves. Everyone has a beast within. In the course of human history, this was not always the case. In the beginning, there was a time when their was no beast within. All was beautiful and cheerful. But that was before the curse, before the shadows fell across Adam’s garden, before the shadows fell across Adam’s heart. Ever since that curse, we have been different. We have a beast unleashed in each of us that makes us beastly, ugly, defiant, angry, and ill-mannered. We do things we know we shouldn’t and wonder why.
It is written in (Romans 3.10-12) “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards.” (Romans 3.23) Satan the adversary, the evil one, the beast, always breaks down the beauty God purposed for us. He corrupts our relationship with God, and that corrupts our relationships with each other; it withers our soul. This is a problem that we cannot fix. Jesus can. This is what the cross was all about – fixing what is broken, healing what we have diminished, restoring intimacy with God, reconciling brothers and sisters, and healing wounded souls. The Bible says, “He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed.” (Isaiah 53.5)
Even more than that, it is about ultimate wholeness. What if the Beauty had not come? What if the Beauty had not cared? We need not dwell on these, "what ifs". He came. The sinless one took the face of the sinner so the sinner could become a saint. Because he emptied himself of all but love, we can be filled. Because His body was broken, our lives can be whole. Because He was forsaken, we will never be alone. Because He was buried for us, we can be raised to be with Him. Because He reached down to us, we don’t have to work our way up to Him. Because He became sin, we can experience ultimate wholeness.
"But all that changed when the girl came. What would have happened to the Beast if the Beauty had not appeared? Better yet, what would have happened if she had not cared? And who would have blamed her if she hadn’t? He was such a . . . beast. Hairy. Drooling. Roaring. Defying. Ill mannered. And she was such a beauty. Stunningly gorgeous. Contagiously kind. If ever two people lived up to their names, didn’t Beauty and the Beast? Who would have blamed her if she hadn’t cared? But she did. And because Beauty loved the Beast . . ."
The story is familiar, not just because it’s an exquisite fairy tale. It is familiar, mostly because it reminds us of ourselves. Everyone has a beast within. In the course of human history, this was not always the case. In the beginning, there was a time when their was no beast within. All was beautiful and cheerful. But that was before the curse, before the shadows fell across Adam’s garden, before the shadows fell across Adam’s heart. Ever since that curse, we have been different. We have a beast unleashed in each of us that makes us beastly, ugly, defiant, angry, and ill-mannered. We do things we know we shouldn’t and wonder why.
It is written in (Romans 3.10-12) “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards.” (Romans 3.23) Satan the adversary, the evil one, the beast, always breaks down the beauty God purposed for us. He corrupts our relationship with God, and that corrupts our relationships with each other; it withers our soul. This is a problem that we cannot fix. Jesus can. This is what the cross was all about – fixing what is broken, healing what we have diminished, restoring intimacy with God, reconciling brothers and sisters, and healing wounded souls. The Bible says, “He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed.” (Isaiah 53.5)
Even more than that, it is about ultimate wholeness. What if the Beauty had not come? What if the Beauty had not cared? We need not dwell on these, "what ifs". He came. The sinless one took the face of the sinner so the sinner could become a saint. Because he emptied himself of all but love, we can be filled. Because His body was broken, our lives can be whole. Because He was forsaken, we will never be alone. Because He was buried for us, we can be raised to be with Him. Because He reached down to us, we don’t have to work our way up to Him. Because He became sin, we can experience ultimate wholeness.
In Christ,
Brown
