Key Verse: Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
Day Five (Day Thirty-Three)
“Fluff the Pillow”
Most people probably fondly remember being tucked in at bedtime, or having a boo-boo made better with a kiss. There are times when we all need a little TLC (Tender Loving Care), a little fluffing of the pillow, so to speak.
Those who had been in full agreement, walking with Jesus the Master, the Teacher, and Prophet, yes, and even coming King, had had their hopes and dreams crushed. Jesus’ arrest and mock trial had devastated their trust and annihilated their confidence. They felt raped of dignity without recourse for action. They had said and done things that couldn’t be taken back, and no amount of apology could make better. Everything had happened so fast. And now, there was emptiness, loss and grief. Jesus was dead and gone; humiliated and crucified on a cross. Would to God that their shame had died with Jesus on that cross! But nothing could be farther from the truth. They’d have to bear or be buried in and with that shame. Where to go; what to do? What had become of the way things were? Where to hide? What to take for pain? Judas chose hanging. And where had Thomas gone? Could we look into each other’s eyes? We were all guilty traitors; just a bunch of pack rats along for the ride. Jesus said it, “It’s finished”. And He’s right, it is over. We’re all done for. It might just as well been us on that cross; we’re all guilty sinners! Would we have acted any differently? Haven’t we all run out to save our own skins at one time or another? Guilt weighs, like Jesus’ haunting image on the cross; bloody, and bruised; limp, and lifeless. What’s left? Call on God and beg for mercy, beg forgiveness, beg for ourselves, and beg for each other? Beg to God for mercy for the nation? But where is God in all this crazy mess? For all intents and purposes, it might just as well be God hanging on the tree! Where is God?
Forty Days of love. Forty days of Jesus’ healing touch. It wasn’t/isn’t over!
Forty days of restoration. Forty days of rejuvenation. Forty days of coming back together: one on one, and one and all: together as one in agreement again. O glory! It’s not over, it’s not finished! Me and Jesus, Jesus and me, Jesus and us! He’s alive! He lives! He lives and reigns! He is both Lord and God and He lives forevermore!
Can you hear the voice of Love saying “Hush, now? Everything’s all right”. Can you feel the hands, warm and tender, lovingly stroking your hair, and touching your face? Can you feel the warmth of His breath; the breath of God, as He hovers over you kissing your brow, and reaching over to fluff your pillow?