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Just Think (A meditation) by Esther Swyer
Written July 14, 2004
Just think –
That the God of the Universe, the Great I AM, our Creator, should humble
Himself to the point of becoming one of His creation – that He should become a
Baby in the womb of one of us, and develop and grow there for nine months, and
then be born as His mother went through the pain and labour of childbirth.
Then think, that He should be nursed at her breast, that He should learn to
eat, to talk and walk as do all human children – then see Him as He learned to
play with sisters and brothers and friends, and grew as a young boy, went to
school and learned from the rabbi, and learned the Scriptures of His people.
Then as He entered His teen years, hear Him as He recited His Bar Mitzvah.
See Him as He grew into a strong young man, a morally clean man – a good
carpenter with His chosen father – His obedience to him and His respect for
His parents – for the loving relationship He had with them. See Him too as a
part of His family, parents, brothers and sisters. How ordinary a life He had
for 30 years – till He was baptised by John the Baptist.
Then He began to be revealed, and
become known for Who He was. Imagine the shock and surprise of those who had
known Him since His childhood – the mixture of feelings toward Him, even among
His brothers – the grief they must have felt as they watched those last three
years of His life, and then to see Him hung on that cross – believing He was
cursed by God, because the Scriptures said, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a
tree”.
Imagine the God of the Universe
willingly going through those 33 years. How much He loves His creation. But
more than that is the truth that He became a curse for us, paying the price
for our sin, and making it possible for us to have salvation, and a
relationship with Him. Then think of the wonder and joy that must have been
theirs when He rose from that grave, and they really began to believe He was
Who He said He was.
Lord, please make us able to grasp
and realise more deeply, and more fully, all that it meant for Jesus, and all
that it means for us today – that He willingly allowed His own creation to put
Him to death – that it was the will of God that it should be so - that had He
not come among us, and lived out a human life and then become our scapegoat on
that cross, we could never have been redeemed from the curse that began with
Adam and Eve. We could never have become born again, saved, or have any
possible hope of anything other than an eternity in Hell after this life,
because none of us could have been pure enough to do what Jesus did for us.
And we could never have come to know You or Your love for us. Thank You Father
for such great love, beyond our comprehension. Thank You.
about the author
Esther Swyer was born in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The eldest of eight children she married at twenty-one and promptly had six children. She became a Christian in October of 1958 at the age of twenty-five and was baptised in December of that year. She began teaching a Sunday School class of a dozen nine to ten year olds in 1961 or 1962 and has been teaching various age groups ever since.
Esther began teaching adults and leading Bible studies sometime in the seventies. She became involved in WMS in the late sixties and held various positions over the years, then in the early to mid-seventies she started serving on the Association Council. On top of all that she was involved for many years in ladies retreats serving as small groups director for around twenty years. Currently Esther is president of the WMS on the Association level, treasurer of her church, adult ladies class teacher, and is completing her third year as a church deacon.
Her first marriage ended after twenty-two years. She re-married thirteen years later in December 1988 and was widowed in June of 2000. She has eighteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Esther has just published a book about her spiritual journey.