Day 13 - How green are you?

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"7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”"

Matthew 2:7-8 (NIV)

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Once, the carpenter made a beautiful wooden toy horse. He was called Joe. Joe the horse loved his maker. He loved it when he gave him attention and carved a bit more intricately. One day, Joe was sat in the corner of the workshop when a little boy and girl came through the door and came over to him. They giggled and took it in turn to have a ride on him. Joe was made up that he could make these kids so happy. It was no surprise when the carpenter came over and began to put the finishing touches to Joe's paintwork. The next day, someone who was too tall for Joe to see came to pick him up and take him to a quaint little cottage. it was like a dream come true. The person wrapped a a bow round him and placed him by the tree.

The next morning, the little boy and girl from the other day came bounding into the room. They bounced over to Joe. The little girl ripped the bow off and the little boy jumped on Joe. As soon as he had jumped on, the little girl was pulling at him to get off and let her have a go. The tussle got more intense and suddenly, Joe found himself on the floor. He looked across to see that one of his legs had broken. The little boy and girl began to cry because they had broken their beautiful horse. Joe was very sad.

Their parents tried and tried to fix Joe but nothing could fix him. So, inevitably, they threw Joe out. Shivering and by the bin, Joe was truly broken. It began to snow and Joe drifted to sleep.

Slowly, he began to feel warm. The sensation growing. He opened his eyes and there he was in the middle of the workshop, next to the fire. The carpenter noticed Joe was awake and came over. He picked Joe up and smiled. The carpenter said "Welcome home Joe. Don't worry. We'll fix that leg right up!" In that moment Joe knew everything would be alright.

Much like the little girl and boy in the story, we too can let our envy, our jealousy cloud our judgement and cause us to hurt the ones we love. We can even break relationships and no matter how hard we try, we just can't seem to mend them. In our lives, we can be quick to judge, quick to be envious. In the Christmas story we see Herod a jealous King, he saw Jesus as a threat and wanted to kill him. But God protected Mary and Joseph and gave them a way out.

I wonder if this Advent season, you can give your envy to Him? Lay it all down at His feet and try to mend what is broken. He is the true carpenter. He will always welcome you home. After all, how many Kings have stepped down from their thrones?

So I wonder today, how green are you?

Reflect today: How can you be more aware of the jealousy in your life? How can you deal with that better? What can you do today to help heal a relationship tarnished with jealousy?

Dear Lord,

Sometimes, I let my envy get the better of me. I let my own brokenness influence the way I am with people. I pray that I am able to lay this down at your feet. Please help me. I struggle. I am so grateful for your love and want to be more like you everyday. Help me live my life for you today.

Amen