Full
Circle I came forth from the Father and have
come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the
Father.
John 16:28
The life of Jesus is a
perfect circle of symmetry. His conception and birth brought Him into the world.
His resurrection and ascension took Him out of the world. At the beginning of
life, He was conceived in a womb from which never a child had been born. At the
end of life, He was placed in a tomb in which never a man had been laid. In this
virgin womb, He was hidden for nine months; in the virgin tomb, for three
days.
He left Mary's womb with a
baby's cry and Joseph's tomb with a victor's shout. He was born to give us a
life that's forgiven, and raised to give us a life that's forever. His body was
sown perishable, but was raised imperishable. It was sown in dishonor but was
raised in glory. It was sown in weakness but raised in power.
Because of
His sacrifice, we can claim the words of the hymnist as our own: "Living, He
loved me; dying He saved me; buried He carried my sins far away; rising He
justified freely forever; one day He's coming -- O glorious day" (Wilber
Chapman, 1908).
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