Ashes, mourning, despair. These were the words that described God’s people before Jesus came to fulfill this prophecy given by Isaiah, as announced by Jesus himself in the temple (Luke 4:18-20). He came to bestow beauty, joy and praise on everyone who would receive them!
In the last few months, and over the Christmas season, I have been reading the A.D. Chronicles by Brock & Bodie Thoene, which have really helped me to understand how desperately the Jews were waiting for the Messiah to finally come and take away their reproach, especially under the Romans and Herod (the Butcher, who killed so many Jews, both young and old, during his reign).
What’s amazing to me is that even when Jesus came to bestow beauty, joy and praise instead of the ashes, mourning and despair, so many Jews refused to accept these gifts from Jesus as their Messiah! It’s like they were unable to relinquish all of their pain and disappointments in life. And for some reason, it was harder for the more religious Jews to accept these amazing gifts!
Our present world is also full of ashes, mourning and a spirit of despair. We are waiting for a day when Jesus will return to earth once again, bringing relief from the heaviness and burdens that many of us carry. We look forward to a day when there is no more dying, pain or grief.
What do we have to do to receive these gifts? As I imagine Jesus standing before each one of us, first with a crown, then with anointing oil and lastly, with a garment, the only thing stopping him would be our willingness to receive them with humility and thankfulness! Bowing down before him, holding out our hands to him, allowing him to put the crown on our heads, then to place the anointing oil on us, and finally to let him slip the garment over our heads.
But also releasing 3 things:
-
ashes that we are clinging to (personal loss or death of a loved one, our old life, perhaps an unwillingness to trust God with bitter feelings?)
-
mourning (someday, grief and sadness will be no more. Until that day, in our mourning, we need to be able to focus on the joy of heaven and what is to come.)
-
a spirit of despair (who would want to live in despair all of their lives, when they could be freed from it, but if one’s choices had led to that despair, perhaps an unwillingness to acknowledge sin or wrong?)
We each have a daily choice of allowing Jesus to bestow these gifts upon us! Are you experiencing the gifts that Jesus died to give you? If not, what are you unwilling to relinquish in order to fully embrace each gift in its entirety?
Jesus, thank you for these three gifts! Help me to choose to live with beauty, joy and praise today, instead of continuing to cling to ashes, mourning and despair. Amen.
Throughout this day: Jesus came to give you these three gifts. Are you willing to receive them, and to give up whatever you might be clinging to? Ask God to show you where you might not be experiencing the full life that he wants you to have (John 10:10).
Photo Credit: Tim McClure