The Great Physician

Advent is here! We are in fact in the middle of Advent. And what is Advent? Advent is a time of anticipation; anticipating the great promise of the Christ Child! This is the season of remembering the promise. Remembering what the promise of Jesus means! And we are to teach this to our children. Our children naturally love this season! It is a happy one. It is one filled with presents, good food and family. But we must pass on the good news to them as well as the gifts that we give them. And what is the good news? The world needed to be saved. We were estranged from God and at war with his creation. We were far away from Him and his people. His bride was a mess and in need of a new dress because hers had been torn and spoiled by her reckless sin. Families were at war because their hearts were far from the One who gives peace. And in this mess God sent the Word. And the Word came and dwelt with God's people. The word came to heal, to bring peace, to give new life to dry bones, to take away the dirty rags and make new ones as white as snow. To speak peace where there was no peace, to fill what was empty, to bring near what was far away. And this miracle, this babe born in Bethlehem to God's handmaiden, was promised in the garden. And it was he who was promised through every age of Israels childhood throughout the old Testament. And it is he who has given us what we have today. And Hebrews tells us that we live in a more blessed time then the saints that lived before the promise humbled himself and took on flesh. And what have we done with it? Have we been faithful with what was given to us? Have we lived in a way that is worthy of our calling? What have we told our children about this promise in the things we say and they way act towards them?
We will meditate on one aspect of Advent and try to become imitators of Jesus in our homes this Advent season. Jesus is called the great physician. He constantly heals the sick, gives sight to the blind and mends broken spirits. And this man who was born of the virgin came to heal the broken. The word came to heal: as mothers we are constantly taking care of brokenness. This brokenness may be fixed up with a band aid but more often we are talking about a broken spirit that needs mending. Jesus came to heal, to set was broken and make it whole again. The world was broken. Fellowship with God was broken, and because of this, mankind was broken. But Jesus the great physician came to heal. So how do we imitate this in our homes? Think of it like this: Your home is a tiny picture of the world. The little people in your home are your responsibility; you are the "Lord" so to speak. Sin is the great enemy that comes to destroy the ones in your home. What will you do? What did God do is always the place we should start with. God sent Jesus. And it was this Jesus who came to heal our brokenness by having his body broken! So the pattern is, sin comes and brings brokenness, the great healer comes to be broken so that we can be made whole again. The main thing to note here is that there is no wholeness without brokenness. And who is the one that was broken, JESUS! You get to imitate him in your little world. You are to be Jesus in this way to your family. When your child sins, something is broken. Now sin brings brokenness, first it severs the one sinning from God, and secondly it seperates the one who has sinned from the one the offense was against. Often our children sin against us or a sibling. So when this happens, it is our responsibility to take on the role of Christ as he took on flesh to heal our brokenness. We should be joyful imitatators of grace because of the grace we have so freely recieved! If you really understand what you have been given, then you will take great delight in giving the same gift. If you do not give grace readily and cheerfully, it is because you do not understand what has been given to you. And if you are in this place, then you need to ask God in this special time of Advent, to open your eyes and make you deeply thankful for the gift of Jesus. And remember that you did not in any way deserve this gift. If you got what you deserved, you would stay broken and estranged forever. But grace does not give what is deserved but rather transforms by giving what is not deserved! So when your little one sins, be Jesus to them. Be Jesus to them because of what He has done for you. Act in a spirit of thankfulness! Act in a spirit of self-denial, treating your child as more important then yourself. And this is what Jesus did when he took on flesh. He humbled himself, he gave himself, he healed and all so that we could be made whole again! And we are made whole so that we can have sweet fellowship with God and serve him faithfully with thanksgiving and joy in our hearts! Go forth then imitating Jesus in your homes in this awesome season of Advent!

Happy Sweeping!