WITH : A 10-Day Christmas Bible PlanSample

THE TWO DOORWAYS

There is pain. And there is beauty.

Beauty and the cross are doorways to God.

When Jesus was young, Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her soul––a chilling prophecy that came to be true. Throughout His whole life, Mary cared for Jesus deeply, and ultimately, she watched as He was killed. Her soul was pierced indeed.

What must Mary have thought of the cross after witnessing the brutality that was her son being murdered? And yet… Now we wear it on necklaces. We adorn our living rooms with it. The cross has become a sign of beauty.

How could that be? Because God is found in both pain and beauty. Because there’s beauty in sacrifice. Because what took place on the cross––though horrible, hateful, humiliating, unthinkable––became the ultimate display of love, and therefore beauty.

God loves beautiful things, and He created a higher kind of beauty than appearance alone. True beauty is found when we love others more than ourselves. When we live sacrificially. And when we treat others as though God were with us always. Because He is. Immanuel.

Here's the video for today. Let's find God in beauty and in pain. Be with Him there. And then, offer just one small act of sacrifice, like Jesus modeled for us. It might be a gift to someone, an act of service, a blessing, or an unexpected kindness. Whatever it is, do it with love, and remember… You are not alone.