For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.Luke 2:11 ESV

As you celebrate His birth today, give thanks that the ultimate fixer of all that is broken in our world has come to rescue each of us. Reflect on the ways He has rescued you with this original reading from Jill Phillips.

The word rescue can feel like a word with clear, measurable results. The cat was rescued by the firefighter; the man was rescued from the boat. Jesus rescued me and saved me from my sins. This is a profound truth I learned as a child and one that continues to shape my life as a grown woman with three children of my own.

This particular season of my life, however, has been full of great loss. In a recent conversation with my husband we realized we sang at eight funerals this year. My beloved Grandma Bea was the first one. She outlived her husband and two of her children, one of whom was my father. One funeral was for a dear friend and mentor from church who has had a profound influence on my life. An almost unbearable funeral was for a 3-year-old child.

I prayed for rescue, a tangible rescue, in every one of these situations. None of them turned out as I hoped or prayed. It has been a season of great grieving and wrestling with God. What does it mean to cry out for rescue and instead face another funeral? I know He has rescued me in the next life but what does this look like lived out today?

When Christ entered the world as a baby and ended His days on earth obedient unto death on a cross, He showed us that there is meaning in suffering. It wasn’t a theological principle He espoused from on high—He lived it out on the ground where we walk. There is profound meaning to the days we have on this earth as we live out the particulars of the life we have been given. We may never understand why things unfold the way they do in our stories and the stories of those we love, but we can find comfort in the fact that Jesus found this journey so meaningful that He entered our world and chose a path of humility, sacrifice, and suffering. He is God With Us. He may not rescue us in the traditional sense from pain in this life, but He never leaves us or forsakes us. I have to trust Him that this is the better way when it doesn’t make sense with my limited view.

We have been rescued in the future and rescued today by His great love. It is a mystery and a comfort I pray I will lean into the rest of my days.

–Jill Phillips

Merry Christmas from all of us at Blood:Water. We hope you have the most joyous day as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.