Silent Saturday is a somber reminder to me of just how easy it is to live viewing Jesus on this side of the cross-after He has risen.
His torture and murder is more than I can wrap my mind around. The details of how He suffered are more than any of us could begin to understand. Imagine the hearts of those that loved Him and followed Him only to witness the horrific, the unfathomable. Imagine the emptiness and devastation that they felt. But that’s not what this painting is about.
Today I was reading Genesis and an artists palette flooded my thoughts. In Genesis, we learn that God created man and woman in His image. God created Adam first and then a “helpmate or helper suitable“ for him. “Suitable helpmate” meant something very different in its context and Hebrew origins than it does today. Those words are derived from the Hebrew words that meant she was the perfect person that God chose to create just for him as a helper in the greatest sense. The word also means she was a perfect fit “according to the opposite of him”. Like an artist palette, those opposites when standing alone were lacking something. Together they brought life.
Sometimes life can feel like a strenuous, uphill battle. A little reprieve will come, and there you are again, on that uphill battle. It can feel so very lonely and exhausting. It’s OK to rest. In fact, although that rest may feel painful, it might be exactly where God wants you to be. Trust Him. When the time is right, one touch from Him, and everything becomes brand new.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep."
