Seeking Pearls

Jesus, God the Son, is humility incarnate. He is the Supreme One, and yet he humbled himself to the most humiliating death imaginable. He is the Exalted One, and yet he took the lowest form of a slave, a servant, a criminal.

Let us be like Jesus, who laid down his life for others. Let us love like Jesus, serve like Jesus, think like Jesus.

In the second half of Philippians chapter One we see a Paul who is absolutely certain about Jesus, but is uncertain about whether he is to remain in the world to do ministry or if he is soon to be going to be with Jesus. Either way, Paul knows that his life is entirely wrapped up in Christ, and in that he chooses to rejoice.

Have you found yourself trying to flee from God anytime recently? Maybe trying to avoid the exact people that God has called you to love and serve? (People He loves...)

Have you found yourself in the belly of a big fish, face to face with the very God you were trying to get away from?

Well, so has Jonah. Jonah is just like us, and he points us to Jesus. Jesus is the One who did not try to run away when God send him to save a sin-sick people. Jesus is the One whose mercy is bigger than sometimes we even want it to be.

Jonah is just like me, and he points me to Jesus. Join me in this journey with Jonah to the city of Nineveh, where we will meet a God who's mercy and love is bigger than we can even understand.

In this episode of the recurring Do You See this Woman series, Jesus brings us face to face with our own prejudices. He goes out of his way to pour his mercy upon a dear woman and her daughter who perhaps others think should not get any of the "crumbs" of his healing. Even her, Jesus? Are you sure she deserves your mercy? (As if a person could 'deserve' mercy.) Then he seems to go out of his way to save a woman on a day when the religious elite think he ought not to be healing. But isn't she more valuable than a donkey? Is his love too big? Does he stretch to far? Does his mercy make us uncomfortable???

Oh how I love this woman and her story. She is courageous and strong. She is humble and lovely. On the day when she we certain she would see her death, she instead saw the kind and loving eyes of her Savior, full of compassion and mercy and forgiveness.

She is me. She is you.

In our third recurrence of the "Do You See this Woman?" podcast series, we will look at three women whose names are hidden from us in the pages of Scripture. Though we don't know their names, the Savior does. He meets them right where they are at, in the midst of the muck and mire of real life, and pours his love and mercy upon them.