Risen with Healing in His Wings

Mild, He lays His glory by. Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.

Thinking on this today—Jesus’ last Supernatural acts on earth before His death were to heal an enemy and pardon a thief.

Of all the things He could have demonstrated in His final days, He touched the ear of a man who was culturally different, religiously different, if religious at all, politically opposed to Him, led by hate, blinded by fear, seeking to chain Him and escort Him to death.

And then He offered salvation through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the thief on the cross.

These were the last earthly miracles of Jesus.  Before saving us all, He healed and pardoned the ones.

When given the chance to demonstrate power, our Lord chose to demonstrate love and mercy instead. In fact, He used His power to demonstrate His mercy. Totally remarkable and yet totally consistent with everything we know about our Savior.

So surely, we can offer a modicum of grace to our family, friend, co-worker, or a stranger—those who merely inconvenience and irritate—even our enemies.

Here is your Christmas Week 2 Challenge: Find the wound of an enemy and heal it rather than exploit it.