Friday, December 24, 2010

A Couple Things to Think About When You're Alone

Scripture Verse that Caught my attention today: John 21:3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Observation: They had seen the resurrected Jesus twice. But it was unclear where he was then, so Peter and his companions went back to their trade. Part of me wonders if they even cared if they caught any fish. Perhaps they just wanted some time alone out on the water.

Application: I suspect that most of us occasionally want/need some time alone—maybe after a rough day or maybe just because we’re in a reflective mood. Such times can be a healing experience and a healthy practice. They can also be dangerous; in relative isolation we don’t always see or appreciate the larger picture. Therefore it’s easy to underestimate our significance or, sometimes, overestimate our significance.

Tonight will be Christmas Eve. Among other things, the story of Christmas is the recounting of God’s refusal to let us ever be completely alone. Although many thoroughly enjoy the holidays, for some the holidays can be an especially lonely or even painful time. But even if you or I ever feel like we are the only ship on the sea, we have Jesus—or rather, Jesus has us! In Jesus we can never over-estimate our significance, for we owe everything to him. By the same token, in Jesus we can never under-estimate our significance either, for he demonstrated that, to him, we are worth the sacrifice of his life. So if we ever want or need some time alone to think…well, those are a couple of things worth thinking about.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of yourself to us in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture Readings today included: John 19-21)

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