I am a big door locker. It is one of my obsessive tendencies. For about the first 6 years of marriage, I would ask Mark every night as we got into bed if he locked the door. Then regardless of his response, I would go double, triple, even quadruple check if I was feeling extra anxious. I still do all the above, except I stopped questioning Mark as he astutely pointed out that his response was irrelevant. Locking oneself inside can provide a sense of security from outside danger, but we all know that in many instances, a lock can do only so much to protect us. In John 20, Jesus appears through the locked door then greets His disciples with the words, “Peace be with you.” He knew their anxious thoughts in light of His death. He knew that they were looking for security and comfort. He also knew that they could never feel fully secure without the assurance of His presence. So as He appears before them, He says the one thing they need to hear most and the thing He alone is actually qualified to offer: PEACE.
User Update:
We tried this devotion with lots of Hershey kisses to entice our children, but our efforts seemed to be falling short. As we started to break this passage down, the more questions I realized I had.
-Why does Jesus say to receive the Holy Spirit if this doesn’t happen until Pentecost?
-Why did he have to breathe on them?
*Some theories that circulated our table regarding the latter question were relating back to how God breathed life into Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:7) OR maybe Jesus forgot to brush his teeth.
Hard to say.
But I think it’s ok to tackle scripture and not know all the answers. I also think it could be beneficial for our kids to hear us express confusion with scripture. Even when we are confused about the details, we can express confidence in His character and the truth of His Word.
Anne
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