Fitting Together the Pieces
Scripture Reading — Luke 1:67-80
"The Lord ... has redeemed his people ... (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago) ..."
Luke 1:68-70
My family sometimes works on one of those thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles. The puzzle sits on a folding table for weeks while everyone in their spare moments makes an effort to fit a couple more pieces into place. I am not a very visual person, so I don't have much success envisioning the shape I am looking for. Sometimes I think the piece must have been missing when the box was sent out from the factory! Then someone else finds the piece I have been chasing for the past few days.
Often I have a hard time making the pieces of life fit together as well. I can't figure out why God throws into our personal puzzle boxes those pieces marked by terrible suffering and loss. I look at the pieces of history and wonder how they fit together into one divine plan.
Then I hear Zechariah sing praise to God as he sees pieces of the puzzle coming together during his own lifetime. Diverse prophecies from centuries ago suddenly lock into place. And the key piece that brings all others into connection? The coming of Jesus Christ!
That's good to know as I look in the puzzle box of my own life. Sometimes the pieces still don't quite fit or make much sense. But one day God will help me understand my life from his point of view. And when he does, Christ and his ministry will remain the key to understanding.
Lord, life doesn't always make sense. Some pieces in our puzzle box seem so unfair. May our confidence in Jesus give us insight today and hope for our future. In his name, Amen.
About the author — Bob Heerspink
Dr. Robert Heerspink was director of Back to God Ministries International from 2006 until 2011, when he passed away. He had previously pastored several Christian Reformed churches. Bob loved to write and was a frequent contributor to the Today devotional.
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