Devotion - Tuesday, October 11

I continue to believe that rising early in the morning to read my Bible is the best option. No other time of the day is as protected as the early morning hours. However, at this hour of the day, there remain a few wisps of sleepiness and ever present desire to drift back into my dreams. I depend upon the stories I read to startle my mind and energize my emotions.

Today I read of the assent of Ahab to the throne of Israel (I Kings 16); of the imprisonment of Paul (Philippians 1); and the resurrection of Jesus (Mark 16). As I closed my book and began to reflect on what I had read, I found it easier to remember details of the first two, than the particulars of Mark's presentation of that first Easter.

My devotional guide includes a writing from a prominent person. Today, there was a reading from Paul Tillich's Shaking of the Foundation. In it he warned of the very thing I had experienced - we become so accustomed to the familiar stories that we fail to be startled by their content.

We know that Jesus is only in the grave for three days. As a result, we miss the horror associated with placing him there.

We know that Paul's writings and his work will change the Roman world. So we are not worried when we hear of his ordeal at the hands of the prison guards.

It is startling, to consider the chain of events, as they occur, and allow the shock of each to reach our hearts and emotions.

Tillich writes, "It has been forgotten that the tomb of Jesus was the end of His life and of His work before it became the place of his final triumph."

Replay in your mind today the events of Jesus' life and consider which have become muted for you. The wonder of hearing the story for the first time is recaptured whenever we follow the individual steps along the way, knowing that they are leading us but fully engaging each step along the way.