“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
Let me paint a picture for you.
You’re the owner of a huge, thriving business. Before starting this company, you were set financially for the rest of your life — so even though you didn’t need to work, you chose to work because you wanted others to share in the fruits of your endlessly creative mind.
You make over six figures a year and give away most of it to charity. You have a cushy private office with an incredible view. You pay your workers above and beyond the average income for their positions.
Not only are you known for your generosity, you are also known for your genuine kindness, humility, and patience. Every single one of your employees adores you, and every one of your customers cherishes their time spent in your presence.
And outside of this job that brings joy and delight to your heart every day, you also have a loving family to whom you look forward to returning every night.
You have everything in the world that anyone could possibly need or want.
And then one day, you give it all up.
You take the lowest position available at your company — something no one wants to do in spite of being paid well — and you take a drastic pay cut. In spite of its challenges, you work at this job with a smile and a cheerful attitude, treating every person you interact with kindly even when all they offer in return is cruelty. You make a few friends while you’re there, but few people recognize you as the company’s former owner.
The hardest part about this job is that it’s located far, far away from your family. You continue to keep in touch with them through letters and phone calls, but it isn’t the same. The distance tugs at your heart and you miss them terribly, especially your father.
You do this for thirty years.
Then you begin to make changes at the company, changes that are meant for the good of everyone who works there as well as those who enjoy the company’s services. Many people, especially those from a lower socioeconomic background, are thrilled by these reforms. Some of them even feel seen and heard for the first time in their lives as a result of your decisions.
Unfortunately, the higher ups – the people whose paychecks you once signed — don’t approve of the changes, which they perceive as negatively impacting their own comfortable status. They become angrier and angrier over time, and eventually they begin spreading lies about you and your character. However, you don’t let this deter you from your mission of quietly changing your small world.
This scares them. These people are so terrified by your interruption of the status quo, they will do anything to make it stop. Smearing your name through a social media campaign isn’t enough. Getting you fired or even imprisoned isn’t enough.
They want you dead.
So they bide their time and secretly begin to round up all the false evidence and fake witnesses they can get their hands on. They even bribe one of your closest friends into betraying you.
Then one day, out of the blue, your former employees accuse you of a crime you didn’t do, a crime that’s deserving of the death penalty. When your friends hear the news, they flee from your side and renounce any connection to you for fear of risking their own lives.
You stand on trial alone, without a lawyer or a single familiar face in the courtroom, quietly listening to the lies and insults spewed by those sitting in the witness stand. There’s a mob of furious people outside, many of them whose lives were improved by your changes, and they’re screaming for your execution. When another man is brought forward, one who is actually guilty of the crimes you’ve been accused of, they demand his release in return for your conviction.
They want you dead, too.
So the judge declares you guilty and sentences you to death. It’s not a quick death, either. It starts with enduring both physical and mental torture at the hands of the prison guards. Just when you think you can’t bear another second, this punishment finally comes to an end.
That’s when your execution begins.
Not only is the method chosen for your death excruciatingly slow and painful, it’s also public. You’re exposed, naked and bleeding, for everyone to see and scorn and mock. It’s even being live streamed for those who can’t watch in person.
Hours of this pain and humiliation pass. After what feels like an eternity, your body finally begins to shut down. You take one last look at the crowd around you, at all those faces twisted with deep and searing hatred for you, the person who only ever treated them with compassion.
You take one last, rattling breath, and you utter six words to your murderers that you mean with all your heart.
“I love you. I forgive you.”
And then you die for them.
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Kati Lynn Davis grew up in Chester County. After a brief stay on the other side of Pennsylvania to earn a writing degree from the University of Pittsburgh, she returned to the area and got a job working for a local library. When she isn’t writing, Kati enjoys reading, drawing, watching movies (especially animated ones!), drinking bubble tea, hanging out with her family cat, and going for very slow runs. Kati is pretty sure she’s an Enneagram 4 but is constantly having an identity crisis over it, so thankfully she’s learning to root her sense of self in Jesus.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
Join us for our Christmas eve services on Tuesday, December 24, at 11:00 a.m., 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. This year, our 11:00 a.m. service is tailored to our young families with kids 10 and under. Willowdale Kids will be available for Birth - Preschool at our 3:00 p.m. service. Willowdale en Espanol will hold service on December 24 at 11:00 a.m. CLICK HERE for more information.