And the Greatest of These…
This month, the miracle is one we all experience. Most of us just had encounters with it during Christmas.
And those of us who ponder on it, the billions of us down through the ages since His birth, try to reconcile how Jesus, knowing the path before him, left the perfection of heaven to come to earth. He knew he would face: cruelty, rejection, mocking, hating, tormenting, and cruel, cruel death. He exactly what it meant. And He would have done it all just for me. Or only for you.
He came because of the greatest miracle. The one we all know, when we experience a pinhead’s worth on earth when we feel love for parents, pets, mates, children, grandchildren. Love.
While our experience of love is a droplet, His love is the ocean. And the very best love on earth cannot compare to a moment in heaven. We can’t even form the concept of heaven; it is so beyond our ability to comprehend.
Most of us don’t want to leave our warm, safe, homes to face problems, let alone leave heaven to face torment. But the One that is Pure Love left the perfection of heaven, to show us the way so that we could spend eternity there with Him. Because He loves us and wants us there. And believing in Him gives us the courage, peace, joy, and love we need to face life on this far from perfect earth, until our arrival.
We can not comprehend that kind of love, any more than we can perform the miracles He performed. But every time we experience love in any form, we are feeling a gossamer layer of His entire being. He is love.
Love is the greatest miracle of all.
Please share a great love you experience here on earth
The Conversation
One of the things I realized the most this Christmas season is I do not really comprehend love in human connections thus I really do not understand Christ’s love. Because of this, it is really hard for me to comprehend or appreciate Jesus’ sacrificial love for mankind or me personally. I understand this somewhat intellectually, but I do not understand Christ’s love emotionally or spiritually. Often, I would get frustrated, even angry and jealous reading other’s testimonies and appreciation of Christ’s love and sacrifice as I understand that I did not have this kind of understanding. I found myself getting angry and even demanding to be changed or healed.
I sometimes can feel a brief nanosecond of love with physical touch from my fur baby but that is brief as he moves away as he is so darn insistent on being independent! I can almost hear him say, “that is enough, now turn me go!”
This year, the greatest insight Jesus is giving me is to be okay being the way I am. More inside my head and not much depth in my heart. I chose to believe in and trust Jesus as a decision regardless of what I ever feel for the rest of my life. I will accept that my personal walk is a walk by primarily a mental decision of faith and without much emotional insight or understanding. I know that can change, but I no longer want to “demand” that God change me in the way I think I should be changed.
I understand that he made me the way I am for a reason, so why am I bucking that and demanding to be made differently? I decided I will celebrate when I read how God works in other people’s lives with emotional and deeper spiritual understanding than I seem to comprehend other than an intellectual understanding. I am trying very hard to ferret out how I frequently put my personal demands on how Christ should work or show up in my life. Christ can perform any miracle he wants at any time, but it is not my place to make demands of what I want. I will keep reading and trying to appreciate other’s insights and walks with Christ. I know that if I do not get there on this side of heaven, then I will when I am received by Christ as I will be a new creature.
I often felt I should not share at all here as I seem to not have a walk with Christ like others. Then again, maybe there is someone else with this kind of walk that needs to hear that God makes people differently.
God is good, God is great, and I thank him for how I am right now and trust he will take me to new insights and understandings that he chooses me to have as long as I stay true in my quest for Christ. My job is to follow, not to decide my path or the outcome, and regardless of the path or outcome. Will I follow no matter what happens, or will I walk away because I am not getting what I think I need or want? I choose to follow, as life without Christ is just no life at all.
Wow. What incredible insight and even more incredible faith. Your story reminds me so much of Mother Teresa who could not “feel” close to God either. And yet she had faith like yours, continued to be faithful, study, act in His will and obey. It got her sainthood. I love your self-acceptance and realization that He loves you just as you are and created you with purpose. So many people think feelings are facts and that leads them so far off the path. Your post is invaluable. I wonder if there is a blog site or group for folks that love God but can’t “feel” it. You are so devout! Recently in the choir, we sang a song named, “Longing for the Light.” I loved the line that said, “we wait for the day when our faith becomes sight.” What a celebration that will be! Thank you so much for sharing this. I’m so glad you did. Everything needs balance and you provide a beautiful Christian balance to those of us who are heavy into feelings. God bless.
Our family was not able to celebrate Christmas this year (2021) due to my sister and her family having COVID. When they were well and we tried before the end of the year, I came down with COVID. We had to wait til mid January to get together for Christmas and we decided to do so at my house, which doesn’t happen very often. I also invited 4 dear friends to join us. Our family had our Christmas celebration of opening presents and then our friends joined us for a meal that was prepared by all of us. Each person bringing parts of the meal. The love that was felt in the house by all there was amazing. Friends were family and each one needed that night for different reasons. Love does amazing things. Love is not jealous. Maybe we were meant to have a delayed Christmas gathering to be able to share our love with others.
What an incredibly beautiful Christmas! Living proof that it’s not about that day on the calendar, it’s about love. Thank you.