*sigh* How I missed my tea the last few days. It's so wonderful to finally miss the presence of my Lord instead of feeling guilty for not working Him in. And to know that is what he wants for me is even better...
I'm still reading through Matthew-just finished chapter 14 this morning which is the halfway point. I may need to go back and actually study some of the parables, because I think I missed the point on a few :) But for now I am trying to "just read" and I am amazed how many little things the Lord is showing me, even if I do miss the big idea.
One thing that tugged at my heart today was the simplicity of Jesus. I love that he told stories that the people could relate to (even if I sometimes don't...hahaha!) I love the response when the disciples ask him why he told stories in chapter 13:
"Then he explained to them, "You have been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge." (Emphasis added)
This is so encouraging to me! All I have to do is approach with an open heart and the rest will come! I'm sure it won't always be easy to do, but not really a complicated process, right? And anyone-regardless of education, background, IQ, etc.-has the same access to the creator of the whole universe because of Jesus. I think that's pretty awesome in a world where nothing else is that simple and all of those other things factor in to what we can have and do with our lives.
Something else that strikes me as wonderfully simplistic in this gospel is the way in which Jesus heals. He just simply says "Ok. Get up and walk." or "You want to see? See." The people who had the most faith simply touched his clothes and were made whole. This speaks volumes to me about the power he had. He didn't need a fancy complicated process to heal someone. He spoke it and it was, because he is. And with all the power in the universe he still chose to humble himself to the ultimate sacrifice so that he could show his unfathomable love for me. Mind.blowing.
The last cookie I had with my tea this morning was one of comfort. Just after John the Baptist was killed and before Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes, verse 13 reads:
"As soon as Jesus heard the news [of John the Baptist], he went off by himself in a boat to a remote area to be alone."
I knew of other times that Jesus went off to be alone (when he was tempted, in the garden before his death), but I don't think I knew of this one. It was a much needed picture of Jesus' humanity for me. Jesus went off alone to grieve his friend. In a time that I am grieving for the illness of one friend and remembering the death of another-I have felt as though it is somehow wrong for me to desire solitude in this situation. Like maybe I'm being selfish. So this verse was a neat little comforting find this morning. I needed to know that Jesus desired solitude in his pain. I can't wait to see even more of his humanity.
Blessing to all until my next tea! :)
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