JMD Devotional 146 John 20:15-22 Badge of Honor

Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you crying [so]? For Whom are you looking? Supposing that it was the gardener, she replied, Sir, if you carried Him away from here, tell me where you have put Him and I will take Him away. Jesus said to her, Mary! Turning around she said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni!--which means Teacher or Master. Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me [do not hold Me], for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brethren and tell them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God. Away came Mary Magdalene, bringing the disciples news (word) that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her. Then on that same first day of the week, when it was evening, though the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you! So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture). Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you. And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit!

I can remember a scene in the movie 'Jaws' in which the three men hunting the shark end a long, hard day's work by having a drink in the boat's cabin comparing scars. Hardly a blue-collar guy gets through life without accumulating some doozies. This is a guy thing, we take pride in enduring and surviving injury; it becomes a badge of courage. It says you faced hazards rather than running away from them; you did what you had to do, even when it hurt; you made a sacrifice. The ultimate scars adorn our Lord; He has made even the most repugnant form of execution an emblem of glory by bravely facing Hell on our behalf. Faith plays a vital role; you have to believe that life holds rewards on the other side of the risk, trials and pain. An individual who goes through this crucible is transformed: dread to boldness, sorrow to joy, anguish to victory. Note that at first no one recognized Jesus after the resurrection; and no one will recognize us either when God's work is complete in our lives.

Dear God,
For the joy set before Him, my Lord Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame! Oh God, grant to me that kind of vision that makes the daily sacrifice, pain and struggle insignificant compared to the hope I have in You. Help me to see what glory lays beyond this travail. Make my suffering meaningful. Purify me by my hope in the promise of one day being mature and complete; perfected in Christ, pleasing to my God. May that joy be uncontainable!
Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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