by Rev Douglas Brauner

Looking to the One who carries our load.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“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. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 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.” 
Isaiah 53:3-5 English Standard Version

Trail to Mount Cutler, Colorado Springs, Colorado

I have been accused of having a vivid imagination, and it’s probably true. Rock formations are more than hardened earth. They have personality, and they tell a story.

This rock tells the story of woman who’s carrying the weight of the world on her back. She is struggling to get free, but is held by her burden. She has nowhere else to look than to the heavens for help.

What is her burden? I see a small child on her back, its face buried in the back of her head. The burden of a mother is unique, something we fathers don’t understand. We approach life differently. We parent differently. We experience pain differently. I will never know what it was like for my wife to carry our three children in her womb. I will never know the pain and joy of giving birth. I will never know the intimate moments of nourishing them with life.

Mothers carry on their backs a life long burden for their children. They never stop worrying.

Whether we’re a man or women, mother or father, child or adult, Christ has carried our griefs and sorrows on his back. Like this woman carved by the griefs and sorrows of nature, we look to the heavens and find help in the one who bore the weight of our sin.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1 English Standard Version

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado