Daily Bread

From The Message...

As (Jesus) said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. He asked, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.

Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”

He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”

“It seemed too good to be true!”

That really is the essence of the gospel — a gift of grace and love that seems to be too good to be true. Can it really be that Someone who could speak a universe into being even notices a little person like me, one among billions on a tiny planet revolving around one of the 200 billion trillion stars in that universe? And if there were such a being, why would that being even care?

Perhaps, indeed, such a being does not exist, and all the infinitude of the universe is just an unfathomable mystery. Perhaps, in the end, we have a few days here and then we die and the dust of all we have been and done blows away more quickly than the dust of our cremated bones, and if that is so, why not just live for what I can see and experience today, do whatever is best for me and hope that, for a while at least, someone will remember my name?

The gospel — the Good News — of Jesus is that his death and resurrection blow both of these lies out of the water. And if, in spite of our doubts we allow the joy of encountering his presence to own us, everything changes. We see our world differently, and the One who loves us, knows how hard it can be to take this all in, so he offers us tangible evidences of his love and presence, as he did to those wondering disciples 2000 years ago.

He comes to us in the flesh of those who bear witness by their changed lives. He comes to us in the flesh of those who hold our hands in the night time of our fear, even when we know we don’t 'deserve' their friendship. He comes to us in the wonder that grasps us when a baby wraps a tiny hand around our finger. He comes to us as our daily needs are supplied. He comes to us in a deep inner knowing of a mysterious presence that has no other source. And he comes to us as we encounter him in his WORD. Suddenly, we begin to see words written centuries ago jump off the page and speak to our very real experience. We understand those words, our world and ourselves differently. And the best news of all - this doesn’t happen only once, but over and over again, until it is not too good to be true — but too true to be anything but good — and grace.

Dear Jesus,
Sometimes you seem far away,
or a figment of my longing imagination
and I wonder if you are, in fact, real.
And I wonder, if you are,
can you care for such a one as me?
Come to me today, in the reality of my everyday life.
Come to me in the bread and wine.
Come to me in my friends and in the wonder of your world.
Astound me with a love that is too good to be true,
but is the truest truth.
And I will bear witness to the world
you love and long for.
For your glory.
Amen