The Beauty in Tragedy

Hello my studly, awesome staff!
I know this post is a little late, but hey! Better late than never :)

I would like to reflect on the reading for Wednesday because it correlated well with what I've been reading and meditating on my personal quiet times too. What caught my eye in the devotional portion of Wednesday's reading was the part that said, "even right now at this very moment He is romancing you from His cross." First of all, how often do we notice that throughout the day? That moment by moment, the bridegroom is chasing after is his bride. Never ceasing. Never slowing down.

Father, I am terribly sorry that I don't listen for call as much as I should.

That is my daily goal: to listen for the sacred voice of God more often.

Secondly, I thought about the whole notion of being romanced by the cross. I think this is a beautiful image that has been depicted for us. Isn't God an awesome artist? It's pretty cool to think that in all of Scripture, the first thing that God did was create. From the beginning of time was art, and God continues to use art to move us, speak to us, and change us.

The piece of divine art that has been twisting my heart in a way it never has before is the cross. How often do we look at a cross and stand in awe? Are we speechless by what it represents? I think we should be. In today's culture, the cross has become a fashion statement. It disgusts me, honestly. No, I don't think there's anything wrong with wearing a pretty cross necklace, or having a painting of Jesus hanging on a cross in your room, but when we just wear the cross, look at the cross, or SPEAK of the cross without any conviction, I think we've completely missed the point. The point for me is not just that we have been saved (which is the most important part of the cross), but if you look a little bit further, the cross is a perfect example of how God makes beauty out of tragedy. The beauty in the cross is not just that we can make it a stunning piece of holy artwork, but that through the blood, the gore, the ultimate tragedy of the world, God used THAT to save our desperate souls. That's what's really cool about God, if you ask me. He uses the most unexpected things to capture us. He makes beauty from ashes. It is the dying Son of Man on the cross that holds out the rose of everlasting life to us. Wow. We serve an indescribable God, don't we?

Amen.

Praying for each and every one of you. Be blessed, in every sense of what that word means.

Megan O'Brien