The Odd Image
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
A few weeks ago my husband, Otto, needed a board, 2x4, 4x6, I don’t know, just a big board, for a project. We went to the hardware store and after looking at several other things, bought the board. Otto put it on one of those huge cart things they have to get it to the checkout but after he paid for it he slung it over his shoulder and carried it to his truck. The image hit me immediately of Jesus carrying the Cross. To me the board seemed ridiculously unwieldy and while it may not have been too much for Otto, it seemed pretty heavy to me. Still he carried it quite a way into the parking lot and with seemingly no effort hoisted it into the back of the truck. That image has stayed with me for the last few weeks. For some reason it continues to remind me of Jesus carrying his Cross.
What I actually saw was a healthy, able man carrying a board the distance of a few car lengths. What runs through my mind is the image of a man, broken and bloodied, carrying two large boards put together, a much longer distance, uphill, while being mocked and spit it and oh, by the way, he was on his way to die.
No one’s life is smooth sailing. Otto right now faces some tough situations. There are things in his life that could certainly be better. His biggest cross is invisible to most eyes but he and I know exactly what breaks his heart on a daily basis.
We are all told in Scripture to bear one another’s burdens and Otto certainly bears mine, as well as those of our children and grandchildren. The image of him carrying that board serves to remind me that he daily, picks up his responsibility for our family and willingly shoulders it. Our children are blessed with an excellent example of selfless love. Otto has sacrificed for all of us, over and over again and yet even as dear and kind as he is, his love doesn’t hold a candle to the love that flows over us from the One who carried an actual cross.
We hear about and read about the love it took for Jesus to carry that Cross, endure the suffering and save us from ourselves but I wonder if we can ever truly understand it. If we could, I don’t think we would be as casual in our lives as most of us are.
Often when Otto does a kindness for me or one of our children I am moved to do something for him. That is because I am an eye witness to the event. I’m wondering as I write this if the reason the board image stands out so much to me, if the reason I felt compelled to write about it, is to shine the light back where it always belongs, on the sweet, perfect, unconditional love of Jesus Christ. Maybe you and I will now feel compelled to offer some gift of love back to him, to Jesus, who oh so greatly deserves it.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
A few weeks ago my husband, Otto, needed a board, 2x4, 4x6, I don’t know, just a big board, for a project. We went to the hardware store and after looking at several other things, bought the board. Otto put it on one of those huge cart things they have to get it to the checkout but after he paid for it he slung it over his shoulder and carried it to his truck. The image hit me immediately of Jesus carrying the Cross. To me the board seemed ridiculously unwieldy and while it may not have been too much for Otto, it seemed pretty heavy to me. Still he carried it quite a way into the parking lot and with seemingly no effort hoisted it into the back of the truck. That image has stayed with me for the last few weeks. For some reason it continues to remind me of Jesus carrying his Cross.
What I actually saw was a healthy, able man carrying a board the distance of a few car lengths. What runs through my mind is the image of a man, broken and bloodied, carrying two large boards put together, a much longer distance, uphill, while being mocked and spit it and oh, by the way, he was on his way to die.
No one’s life is smooth sailing. Otto right now faces some tough situations. There are things in his life that could certainly be better. His biggest cross is invisible to most eyes but he and I know exactly what breaks his heart on a daily basis.
We are all told in Scripture to bear one another’s burdens and Otto certainly bears mine, as well as those of our children and grandchildren. The image of him carrying that board serves to remind me that he daily, picks up his responsibility for our family and willingly shoulders it. Our children are blessed with an excellent example of selfless love. Otto has sacrificed for all of us, over and over again and yet even as dear and kind as he is, his love doesn’t hold a candle to the love that flows over us from the One who carried an actual cross.
We hear about and read about the love it took for Jesus to carry that Cross, endure the suffering and save us from ourselves but I wonder if we can ever truly understand it. If we could, I don’t think we would be as casual in our lives as most of us are.
Often when Otto does a kindness for me or one of our children I am moved to do something for him. That is because I am an eye witness to the event. I’m wondering as I write this if the reason the board image stands out so much to me, if the reason I felt compelled to write about it, is to shine the light back where it always belongs, on the sweet, perfect, unconditional love of Jesus Christ. Maybe you and I will now feel compelled to offer some gift of love back to him, to Jesus, who oh so greatly deserves it.
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