Below is a “Soul Food” that I wrote for http://www.ourcityonahill.net , a local website dedicated to publishing HIS glorious deeds, uniting believers, building up the Body of Christ and encouraging ALL to seek, know, love, share, show and serve Christ!

I pray that it blesses you and makes you hungry for more of That Jesus.  May you “dig for gold” all the days of your life in God’s Word! It is a treasure hunt you will never regret!

Wombs & Tombs

“And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room available for them.” Luke 2:7 (NIV)

“Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance…Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb…he saw the strips of linen lying there…” John 20:1-6 (NIV)

When I gave birth to all three of my children, the waiting room was full and people brought gifts. I swaddled my babies and laid them all down in bassinets, pack and plays, or baby beds to sleep. Mary was a momma too. We all know the Christmas story. Mary gave birth. Mary swaddled her baby and laid him down to sleep. Many visitors came and gifts were brought. BUT JESUS changes the story!

BUT JESUS…

Do you remember when Jesus entered your story? I do. The “wombs” and “tombs” switch places in the life of a Christ follower. Let me explain:

Jesus was born sinless of a “womb”, later exiting a “tomb”, conquering death once and for all. When I became a believer by hearing about Jesus, recognizing my need for a Savior, repenting of my sin, asking Jesus to be Lord of my life and then following, I was “reborn”. I went from death to life, from the “tomb” to the “womb”. Death lost it’s hold on me. Now, I am to “deliver Jesus” to the world around me, until the day He takes me home or He returns.

Can you see it? “Reborn”, we live resurrected lives that have the high privilege and great responsibility of delivering or “giving birth” to Jesus everywhere we go! We are all a “Mary”. That would never have been possible had we not gone from death to life, the “tomb” to the “womb”.

The day I decided to follow Jesus was my BUT JESUS moment. HE changed my story in the light of HIS GLORY and I am eternally grateful. When I look at the verses above, I see some natural details that have supernatural significance in all of our lives. When I was “reborn”, I left my burial clothes behind and Christ wrapped me in NEW. The garments of shame, addiction, bitterness and depression were replaced with garments of praise, freedom, joy and peace. My “City of Self” was replaced with a “City On A Hill”. As Christ began to make me whole, HE also began to fill my empty holes with HIS passions and dreams, thus He began to break my heart for what breaks HIS! I will take a “God-broken heart” over a “self-sick heart” any day! A “God-broken heart” is filled with purpose and it is moved to “move”, thus compassion is expressed in action. Whereas, a “self-sick heart” is empty and hopeless. Without hope, we become paralyzed in self-pity, thus “action” is not an option.

Because of the “empty tomb”, we are able to deliver Christ, be “Mary”, through our words and actions, using the gifts God gave us. Our hearts break in different places, so that every broken place is covered! Our gifts are different, so that every different need can be met!

I was lost but now I’m found. I was dead in sin but now I am alive in Christ. My heart breaks for the lost, for those who don’t even know they are dead in sin. My heart breaks for those paralyzed with fear, imprisoned by addiction, and suffocated in shame. I love to immerse myself in The Word, write, read, run, drink coffee, talk and listen. God crafted me the way that I am for a reason. He placed me exactly where I am “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) and I will “serve God’s purpose in my generation” (Acts 13:36), arriving at the grave breathless, ushered into “a city with no need for the sun or the moon for the Glory of the Lord illuminates this city, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Revelation 21:23)

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you so much for meeting me exactly where I am. You saw me in my sin and you still died and were raised from the dead for me! You entered this world through a womb, putting on skin and you walked out your 33 years sinless. This world tried to “bind” and “kill” you, yet you exited a tomb, unbound, defeating death and now sitting at the right hand of God, The Father! It is all because of Jesus that I am reborn, free, restored and walking in fulfillment! Thank you that the “womb” and the “tomb” represent birth and rebirth, thus conquering the grave, once and for all! Amen

Reflection Questions:

1) When you were “born again”, what dreams or passions did Christ birth in your heart?

2) What has The Lord asked you to “leave in the tomb”, in order to live out resurrected life?

Treasure Hunt:(for further study-Resurrection Stories)

John 11:1-44

Luke 8:49-56

Faith In Action:

This week, depending on where your heart breaks or your joy soars, pray for the Lord to open your eyes to an opportunity to serve in these areas- AND JUST DO IT!