Esther 2:15-18

Esther 2:15-18 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  So Esther is going before the king, and she's uncertain of what to ask.  So she goes to the person she knows who is closest to the king and asks him what to do.  By listening to this source, she triumphs in a time of adversity.
  This makes for a great story for Esther, and a happy ending.  The great news is that it's also your story, if you want it to be.
  Here we are, uncertain.  Jesus tells us that we'll have trouble in this life, and he wasn't wrong about that.  We have trouble and stress and uncertainty and fear and doubt.  If you're at all like me, there are plenty of moments where you aren't sure what to do next.  If we're wise, we listen to the person we know who is closest to the King.  We listen to Jesus, who is fully God in addition to being fully human.  Jesus tells us and shows us how the King is -- both righteous and merciful, forgiving and just.  Jesus invites us into a relationship with the King and tells us how to live -- selflessly and patiently, kindly and full of forgiveness.  Live with Love, Jesus tells us, and we'll triumph, we'll recognize the glory of the feast to which we are invited.  Jesus tells us how to live, and he's closest to the King, so may we obey him.

 As Mark Twain was believed to have said, "It is not the things which I do not understand in the Bible which trouble me, but the things which I do understand.”  Jesus tells us some challenging things about loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us and turning the other cheek and laying down our lives for our friends.  May we read them and confront them and let them lead us into the banquet with the King!