Usually we groan inside when we get stuck behind a school bus. Often it seems like it stops at every driveway. But the past few mornings have been kind of fun. School is just beginning and there are a lot of very excited little people waiting for the big yellow bus. There are lots of parents with cameras recording these first few days. For decades to come children turned adults will see themselves beaming (hopefully) as they make that first big step up into the bus.
First times are so special. We try to record the first steps, first words, first birthdays and first time riding a two-wheeler. Most of us can remember the first time we kissed that someone special. There is also something sad about first times. Each one represents a passage to a new chapter in life and we close a section of our life that can only be visited in our memories. Life is an interesting series of bitter sweet events.
The sacrifice of Jesus was a bitter sweet event. Heaven had to be in horrendous anguish as they watched the brutal, violent behavior of those who nailed Jesus to the cross. Yet there had to be feelings of pride in the courage of Jesus who was voluntarily submitted to this atrocity. It was a passage. No longer would the universe ever be the same. Sinners, for whom He died, murdered the Creator and the door of eternity was opened for anyone who would receive the gift.
“For the joy that was set before him, Jesus, endured the cross, despising the shame, . .” Hebrews 12:2
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 27, 2003
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