Christ experienced the ups and downs of life for us.

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

So, was I moving up or down this escalator? It’s probably obvious to you that I was heading down, yet it’s hard to tell.  We’re use to seeing escalators move, and in that movement we know the direction we’re heading.

Life isn’t static, it is always moving up and down through the seasons.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
   a time to be born, and a time to die;
   a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
   a time to kill, and a time to heal;
   a time to break down, and a time to build up;
   a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
   a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
   a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
   a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
   a time to seek, and a time to lose;
   a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
   a time to tear, and a time to sew;
   a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
   a time to love, and a time to hate;
   a time for war, and a time for peace.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 English Standard Version

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours and hours into days. The reality of opposites exits within this movement of time. There is time for the ups, downs, and the seasons of life. Reading the Preacher’s list, we know whether we’re heading up or down; whether we’re experiencing grief or joy, war or peace.

At the intersection of life’s escalator stands the One who traveled the ups and downs for us. He is the one who experienced all the seasons of life that he might walk with us through whatever season we’re experiencing.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner