Untangled

Colossians 3:10 (You) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator

It was the last Mom's group of the semester.  I had two speaking roles and desired to look my best.  I had planned my outfit head to toe.  Only my jewelry had not gotten the memo.  At least five necklaces were wrapped like spaghetti around the one I wanted to wear.  Frustrated, I sunk into the bed to begin the arduous process of untangling them.

As I did I thought of my father's hands.  When I was four, he purchased a real marionette for me.  He was suspended from colored strings that matched the bright hues of his bow-tied outfit while his froggy face stared permanently in a pleasant grin.  However his face was merely a facade.  Above him, his strings were consistently a mangled mess that caused his extremities to move in a spastic fashion never intended by his designer.  My dad spent countless hours during my childhood sorting out those strings only to have me bring my puppet frog to him time and again in this twisted position.

This morning I am in Matthew 18. Here, Jesus' disciples reveal the true priorities of their hearts by inquiring who is the greatest in heaven.  In response Jesus leads their hearts toward true greatness - humility and forgiveness.  Then Jesus tells them a story of a great king who forgives the insurmountable debt of one of his servants.

In a few days it will be Easter.  Across America, millions will gather to celebrate Jesus' sacrifice of death in exchange for our sin.  This parable is the essence of Easter.  God chose to forgive an insurmountable debt by taking our sin on as His own.  Jesus came to earth not just to die but to give us abundant life even now on earth.

Sometimes my life gets quite knotty.  Difficult relationships and trying circumstances wrap themselves around me and attempt to squeeze out the abundance God offers me.  The same hands that restored sight to the blind and life to the dead, can unsnarl what binds my life.

God reaches down from heaven and takes the mangled mess of strings called our lives.  Lovingly, He unwinds what we have twisted and restores our lives to what He intended when He made us.  Our transfixed eyes and plastic smile transform to true joy - joy only found when living in relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, I see Your hands filled with love and healing.  As You unfurl the cords of my life one strand at a time, I exchange my mess for Your peace.  This Easter I give you the strings of my life knowing that You will return them in perfect order.