Jesus Humbles Himself to Redeem – December 2, 2021

“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:27,28

Jesus Humbles Himself to Redeem

Khaleesi is a one-and-a-half-year-old miniature long-haired dachshund dog. She recently ran after a rabbit and kept running when the rabbit ran into a drain tube roughly 6 inches in diameter. The rabbit got all the way through. But Khaleesi didn’t—she got stuck in the vertical position about four feet down. The dog’s owner called the fire department for help. But when they got to the scene later that evening, they concluded that because it was dark, the terrain was rough, and the retaining wall the pipe was in was already in danger of collapsing that they wouldn’t be able to safely do anything until the next morning. The owner didn’t sleep that night. The next morning, everyone returned to the scene. The firefighters used the jaws of life to carefully cut away sections of the pipe without hurting Khaleesi. Everyone could hear Khaleesi crying and whimpering the entire time. But finally, 20 hours after she got stuck in the pipe, Khaleesi was set free. She jumped into the arms of her owner, with her tail wagging excitingly.

Like Khaleesi in that drain tube, we long for relief too. We are eager to find relief from stress, anxiety, guilt, and worry. We’re eager to be relieved of broken hearts, loneliness, regrets, and shattered dreams—which can all affect us for much longer than 20 hours.

Thankfully, the Bible tells us that Jesus has done everything necessary to bring us relief from all of these things. And one day, when Jesus returns “with power and great glory,” we will experience that relief in full. Until then, do not let the pain of this sinful world overwhelm your faith in the Savior who humbled himself to redeem us all from pain, death, and sin.

Prayer:
Gracious Redeemer, have mercy on me and keep my eyes of faith always fixed on you, and my heart always eager for my redemption. Amen.