When Jesus left His Heaven for us it was the first time ever there was an absence. A gap. An emptiness….Think of that. It had never happened before. There is something about an absence that fills the space more than when they are there sometimes. Kids leave for college…..kindergarten……war……we call it empty nest syndrome.

And think of that, God Himself was the first to experience it…..

I wonder, when Jesus came to earth for those few short years, I wonder if God turned to His right meaning to run something by Jesus and remembered He was down here. I know, God doesn’t forget anything but Heaven must have felt strange with one less person on the throne.

People that help run our world are gone and suddenly we realize what they do. Any husbands relate? Moms can hold the universe and it’s all taken for granted, until they don’t. And many Dads do too, don’t get me wrong.

It’s late and I am thinking these things because I am thinking of all the little/big things that don’t get done unless I do them when you’re gone. I noticed for instance that when you put my glasses away you always fold them neatly up. (I throw them all over the place. And you wipe the crud off the bathroom counter. And endless trips to the store so that everything runs smoothly. It’s getting my cookies at the little bakery and filling my vitamin dispenser. The list is endless.

Not only the practical kind of stuff but also the light of your presence and laughter and voice. Your creativity and wonderful ideas that never cease to amaze me.

Who is in your life today that would be sorely missed if they were gone? How can you honor them by carrying some of their load?

Jesus came on a mission and then He left and the world was never the same. It never will be. Our pastor said yesterday that each day presents its own opportunity to embrace our Salvation all over again. We get to have a clean slate……what a luxury.

And if God gives us a clean slate, that should mean we need to give each other that same clean slate of forgiveness and grace. Leave yesterday behind and take whatever your holding over someone’s head take it away. Leave it with Jesus. At the cross.

This week we are trudging to Calvary.  Maybe Monday feels like your mini Calvary. But take heart, Easter is coming. Each day we live out our Easter all over again. Salvation is forever……..like a plumb line stretching all the way into eternity.

There is a truth older than the ages. There is a promise of things yet to come. There is one born for our salvation, Jesus. There is a light that overcomes the darkness. There is a kingdom that forever reigns. There is a freedom from the chains that bind us, Jesus. Who walks on the waters, Who speaks to the sea, Who stands in the fire beside me. He roars like a lion, He bled as the lamb, He carries my healing in His hands, Jesus…….Chris Tomlin, Jesus