​John 3:16-17
“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Isaiah 53:1-5
“1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground, he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

My father-in-law finally has peace around his eyes this morning. I didn’t realize how much life he was carrying there until it wasn’t there. The face of death can be peaceful or terrified. It depends on where you go next.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son and with his wounds we are healed.

I wonder what the face of Christ looked like when he died on the cross. His body ripped to shreds, then ripped more as he carried a rough cut cross to the hill, then nailed to the cross; pain we can’t imagine. Yet it was nothing compared to the pain He endured when he took on all the sin of the world so that we could be forgiven. I wonder if He had the look of peace when he said it’s finished, knowing that He had changed things forever in our favor.

This life is full of joy and pain. The next life is either or.

I know by the peace around around Dad’s eyes that he knows joy today; the pain is gone.

Something to ponder as we prioritize the choices we make during the days.

Christ is who he claims to be. That matters. He died for our transgressions, He offers us peace and joy while we’re here and in the next life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Peace Dad.