A Bittersweet Celebration {John 14:1-6}
11:00 PM
Monday Sept. 2
Today’s Reading- John 14:1-6
Can it really be September? The months seem to have flown by. Yet I know it must be true, for here we are with another Labor Day upon us. Ah, Labor Day. A bittersweet celebration. On one hand it gives us the chance to send summer off with a bang; a last time to celebrate the festivities that the fading season has to offer. On the other, a bitter reminder of the change to come; shorter days, grey skies, and cold winds that foreshadow the approaching winter.
If there’s anyone who knows about bittersweet celebrations, it’s Jesus. Arriving in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the Lord and His disciples rented an upper room in a guesthouse inside the city walls. Enjoying supper, His heart must have felt the joy, laughter, and fellowship that comes with spending time with those you love. Yet at the same time He must also have felt the bitterness of knowing that in a few short hours, due to the betrayal of one He held dear, He would leave them to be jailed, tried and found guilty, brutally tortured, and nailed to a Cross.
The disciples were devastated when their Master told them of His soon departure. Yet the Lord comforted them saying, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” (vs. 1) Jesus told His friends that although things might look bleak, keep believing both in God and Him, because wonderful things worthy of great celebrations were going to happen. For He wasn’t just leaving them behind, but rather going to make arrangements for them to all be together forever. “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (vs. 2-3)
That last supper celebration with Jesus and His disciples must have been bittersweet of epic proportions. When I think of the pain and suffering Christ endured on our behalf, bitterness fills my heart. Yet with His death and Resurrection, He gave us the gift of eternal life; a gift that is sweet to my soul. So as I mourn the ending of summer, I will celebrate all of the wonderful things Autumn has to offer. And as I anxiously await the return of my Savior I will keep believing both in God and Christ, fending off the bitterness of the world and clinging to the sweetness that awaits me when I dwell with Jesus forever!
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