“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”
― Abraham Lincoln
― Abraham Lincoln
HOSEA 9-11
REVELATION 2
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
JOURNAL
What a weekend. Starting on Friday with the unexpected snow, a surprise homecoming, a broken arm, and ending with a family get together that seemed to be just what we all needed. So reflecting on all of that last night I settled in and watched a video. It was the Christmas story from the perspective of a disabled, rejected shepherd.
As I watched this dirty, poor, ragged man become part of the greatest moment on earth...I realized in a new way the true message of the gospel. Jesus didn't come as a reward to the successful. Jesus didn't come to be an inspiration to work towards. Jesus didn't come to be a model of right behavior. Jesus came to welcome and redeem us when we are at our worst.
The world does an adequate job of rewarding the successful, the shrewd, the brilliant, the talented. That's all well and good because it helps our communities to grow, it pushes us to better ourselves etc. But what the world lacks is an answer for our failure. The kingdom of the world has no place for those ragged, poor, dirty, stained souls that needed a savior.
So against all odds...the greatest to ever walk the earth, the Son of God, was born into squalor...surrounded by poor, dirty shepherds. Why??? Because that's who needed him most. Because when it's all said and done, that's what we all need most. We are all destined for failure...our bodies, our minds, our wealth, our possessions...they all will fail us and waste away. When that happens the world will turn us away, it will no longer need us.
Yet because of God and his love for us we are promised to always have a home, always have a place at the table. All that is required is that we acknowledge it, receive it and live it.
As I watched this dirty, poor, ragged man become part of the greatest moment on earth...I realized in a new way the true message of the gospel. Jesus didn't come as a reward to the successful. Jesus didn't come to be an inspiration to work towards. Jesus didn't come to be a model of right behavior. Jesus came to welcome and redeem us when we are at our worst.
The world does an adequate job of rewarding the successful, the shrewd, the brilliant, the talented. That's all well and good because it helps our communities to grow, it pushes us to better ourselves etc. But what the world lacks is an answer for our failure. The kingdom of the world has no place for those ragged, poor, dirty, stained souls that needed a savior.
So against all odds...the greatest to ever walk the earth, the Son of God, was born into squalor...surrounded by poor, dirty shepherds. Why??? Because that's who needed him most. Because when it's all said and done, that's what we all need most. We are all destined for failure...our bodies, our minds, our wealth, our possessions...they all will fail us and waste away. When that happens the world will turn us away, it will no longer need us.
Yet because of God and his love for us we are promised to always have a home, always have a place at the table. All that is required is that we acknowledge it, receive it and live it.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
LUKE 5:29-31
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