Vol. 14 No. 23
Dear Friend,
Leonardo DaVinci's Pieta,
received a great deal of attention when a vandal broke and defaced the sculpture. Indeed, more attention was focused on the
desecration of the work of art than what that work of art really
portrayed: Mary, the mother of Jesus,
holding her dead son.
A great many, probably the majority of works of art, publications
and sermons dealing with the death of Jesus bring focus to the loss and pain
experienced by the God, the Father Almighty who had been in continuous
fellowship with Jesus the Son from all eternity past.
What about Mary? True, she knew him to be God's son, the Christ. He was also her little boy. Imagine what went through the mind of the
woman who sang, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices is God
my Savior" when she learned she was
pregnant (Luke 1:46 NIV).
If you have lost a child or anyone very dear to your heart, then
you know Mary's heartache.
Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was the loss of a great deal more
than his own life. Everyone bound up with him sacrificed deeply.
There is a suffering side to life. The Author of life, himself,
and his family, are well familiar with it. It is the same for all who would
follow him.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles... "(2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV).
With joy,
E. Stanley Ott
