I recently went to a prayer vigil at my church. It was simply a day set aside to reflect on our relationship with God a few days before the official Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday starts.
You could come and go as you pleased, but there were stations in separate parts of the sanctuary to facilitate reflections and prayer.
Instrumental music—the real kind that won’t make you think of lyrics—played in the background, and gentle lighting helped me to concentrate and pray. I was the only one when I arrived at that time of the morning—everyone else had already left for work.
How refreshing it was to sit leisurely at Jesus’ feet right before the imposed havoc of the Christmas season ambushes us.
The first station had a roughhewn old cross leaning against the wall. It asked us to reflect on the providence of our salvation. That was where I lingered the longest.
As I reflected on His sacrifice for us, I gingerly fingered the side of the cross and its prickly wood. I knew that the real cross was much taller, filthy and jagged, and caked with the smelly dried blood of countless victims.
When I reflect on my salvation, I often try to imagine the glory of heaven where Jesus sat enthroned surrounded by swarms of angels worshiping Him.
Then I think of how far down from heaven He had to come to put on human flesh like we put on a coat. God Himself bends down so very low to listen to us just because He loves us and He wants to hear us. How far down He came that night to hear the sighs, whines, and whimpers of our hearts!
When I think of how far He had to come just to hear us, I start sniveling with eyes that leak. If I dwell on that too long, the ugly cry comes. My eyes are threatening spillage even now as I sit here in the library typing about His affection for us!
We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
Romans 5:7–8 MSG
Y’all, Jesus didn’t rush down the stairs with the exasperation of a parent looking to whup kids He’d yelled at to stop one last time.
Jesus stepped down into our humanity gingerly but deliberately, and with great love. And His Soul smiled with awe and wonder as He experienced the world He had made from our limited perspective for the first time.
He was thankful for the taste of stewed lentils from His family’s cooking pot in the hearth. He breathed in the dusty hot air outside the house where He learned His earthly dad’s carpentry trade. And He heard His mother whisper in His ear how much she loved Him and knew how His humans felt when they felt loved.
He came to make sure we knew we were loved—by the One Who created us for eternal life. As singles, we especially need to know we are loved enough by God to make the love of others more significant.
Friends, when was the last time you reflected deeply on God’s love and salvation for you? I know I’m not the only one around here who takes God’s love and grace for granted.
Though I am bent on returning to the land of my calling, I still need to reflect more often on the salvation I was given by Christ’s sacrifice. Just because I’m in ministry doesn’t make this automatic. Many of you know this!
Thanksgiving is a common time to reflect on and tell others the many things we are grateful for. As we rush into the holiday season, however, please take time to sit and meditate on the sacrifices Jesus made so you could have eternal life.
Then be sure to tell Jesus Thank You for your salvation. You don’t have to wait till Christmas or Easter to do this!
Some scriptures to help you reflect on His salvation:
Matthew 20:28
Luke 9:51
Luke 19:10
John 6:38–40
John 12:27–36
John 17
John 19:30
Hebrews 12:2–4
For more on all the reasons Jesus came, check out this article by Kevin Halloran, here: https://www.kevinhalloran.net/christmas-bible-verses/
May you have a blessed—and safe—Thanksgiving out there!
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be
gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give
you peace.
Numbers 6:24–26 NASB
