READ: MATTHEW 1:23; EPHESIANS 2:8-9; COLOSSIANS 1:12-22; HEBREWS 12:2 A few days ago, Keera had been told of the beautiful Golden City where there were no tears. So she had left her home, her family, everything, to seek it out. But when she arrived, she was dismayed to find it was at the top of a huge cliffside. She could just see a bit of light at the peak. Finally, after a long hesitation, she began to climb the Mountain of Sin. Now, she half clung to the broken handholds, half crawled up the cutting path. But every painful step she took seemed to bring her no closer to the shining light at the top. She made her way along different paths, each one seeming to be a relief to her aching feet at the beginning, but proving to be just as painful later on. She wandered and wandered. One moment she thought she was on the right path, and then she would see a boulder she’d visited minutes or hours before. There were no trees. No plants. No life. The bit of water she found was filthy and not fit to drink. Cold. Exhausted. Broken. Alone. Keera was pelted with words of misery as she crawled up the sharp rocks. “Can’t…make it!” her aching body told her. Her heart cried out in desperation as she fell to the ground. She began to weep. Then, through her tears, she saw two bare, bleeding feet stop before her. She looked up to see who the feet belonged to. He seemed to be the kindest, gentlest man she had ever seen. “Hello,” he said in a wonderful voice. “How long have you been wandering here?” “I’ve lost track,” Keera said, her own voice cracking and dry. “But I thought I was alone. Have you wandered here until you can’t feel anything but pain and cold too?” “You might say that,” he answered. “There is only one way to the City, but you would need to trust me.” Without hesitation, she said, “I already do.” Then she felt the man’s arms wrap around her as he lifted her onto his back and began to walk up the steep trail. She heard him gritting his teeth at her weight and felt him wince as each stone pierced his feet. But he kept going. After what seemed like hours, he set her down and said, “We’re here.” Astonished, she asked, “Why could you find a path and I couldn’t?” “Because I am the only way to the top. There is no other way, Keera,” he said. Surprised again, she asked, “How do you know my name?” He answered, “I know everyone’s name. My name is Immanuel.” Then he smiled the most wonderful smile. “Now, come and enter my kingdom.” • Natalie Crowe • What stuck out to you in today’s allegorical story? What questions do you have? • God created us for relationship with Himself, and He longs for us to be with Him in His kingdom of light. Yet our sin separated us from God, like an impossibly steep mountain no one could climb. No one, that is, except Jesus. Matthew 1:23 says Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” God’s love for us is so great that Jesus came to live among us and, ultimately, to save us. Only Jesus could defeat sin and death. Fully God and fully human, He resisted every temptation, and He willingly laid down His life for us—suffering a terrible death on a cross. And then, He rose from the dead, declaring that all who put their trust in Him are citizens of His eternal kingdom! For more about this good news, see our "
