The Closest Cuts Hurt the Most

AM Psalm 45 • PM Psalm 47, 48
Joshua 8:1-22 • Rom. 14:1-12 • Matt. 26:47-56

Plenty has been written, preached, and taught about how and why Judas betrayed Jesus. Today, I’m thinking about the inevitability of that fact. Of course it was one of the twelve who handed him over to the empire. Jesus had some pretty thick skin. He could handle what people said about him, when they wanted to throw him over a cliff and chased him out of town. It wasn’t the naysayers, the skeptics who would lead to his demise. I don’t think those outside of the inner circle really had the power to take down the Messiah. The call had to come from inside the house.

Does this ring true for you? Can you handle someone cutting you off in traffic or being rude in the grocery store? But then it’s a teasing jab from a partner or family member’s passive aggressive comment that really gets to you? I find those comments and actions the hardest to brush off.

There is great privilege to be on the inner circle of others, and that carries with it great weight, great responsibility to respond to vulnerability with tenderness and care. That trust is earned over time and can be broken in an instant. If we know this to be true, may we bring extra care and grace to our relationships with those closest to us.

Written by Angela Tyler-Williams

Angela tries to live life with a strong back, soft front, head held high, and hands open.