Walking With Christ

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.(ESV)

This is possibly one of the best known scriptures in the entire bible, but it’s just the beginning. It’s because God loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. It’s because Jesus loved the Father that He was obedient even to His death on the cross.

In between is a story that holds a never ending love song. God is love. Jesus is God. Therefore, Jesus is love. The love that Jesus had was the purest thing that any human being has ever experienced on this earth. It was so pure that it made people angry. It brought out every flaw and showed those flaws in graphic detail. People got angry because a comfortable lie was easier to live with than the painful truth. What they missed was that the truth was never meant to hurt them but to heal them.

The love of Jesus was so perfect and pure that it made our imperfections perfectly obvious. Those who listened to the message of Jesus found that this was done in love and brought with it an invitation to join Him in eternal paradise where flaws don’t exist. The life that Jesus led was meant to give us back permission to live as He did. To live out the love that He shared with us and the love that He has for us. We are meant to share that love with each other especially through petty differences and trials.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I will be at home with my family. Not everyone is blessed to be able to say that tomorrow. In some houses there will be empty seats. In some houses, duty or work demands time away. In some houses, pain has caused rifts that have yet to be bridged. No matter the cause, we pray for the empty chairs, silent prayers, hidden struggles, buried pains, unspoken needs, broken hearts, and so much more as we gather with those we are blessed to be able to spend time with. Welcome the ones you are spending the holidays with open arms and freely given hugs. Show grace and give mercy to all without forgetting to do the same for the one looking back at you in the mirror.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. May you laugh until you cry, eat until it hurts, smile until your face becomes stuck, and love as freely as Jesus does. May God grant you wisdom and give you His peace to mend old wounds, rebuild burned bridges, and fortify existing ones.

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.