Many years ago our daughter Emily, found a beautiful rock on the beach near our home in Sequim. It was smooth and translucent with swirled colors of pink, blue, yellow & purple.
We took the pretty rock to Em's geology teacher and asked him if it had any value. A geology student standing nearby piped up "It is only as valuable as the value you place in it."
A couple days ago I was reading an article about Easter. The author was discrediting Easter, explaining it's origins as a pagan holiday. I soon quit reading the article because I could tell that the author placed no value in Easter. To me it is of great worth, for it is the season to commemorate the atonement and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. If it is so that Easter began as a pagan holiday, I rejoice in it's conversion to Christianity.
I love the words to our church hymn "I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me." What is that love that Jesus offers us? It is an unconditional love from His soul to ours. I believe some of the yearnings we have in our hearts are because our spirit sorely misses the Savior and His all encompassing love that we were once so familiar with before this life.
Is there anything in this world of more value than our Saviors love?
Truly I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. The hymn continues "confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me." What is this astonishing grace that He offers us?
1) It is forgiveness of sin. Jesus' last words here in mortality were "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." I am astonished at such grace! Can you imagine after all He went through and all they had done to Him? (I would have wanted God to strike them with a lightning bolt!) Such mercy and unconditional love. Repentance is an important part of forgiveness. It is easy for God to forgive us of our sins but that would not change us. Only repentance can change our heart & Jesus forces no one to repent and change. We can choose. In 2 Corinthians 7 it says "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation."
2) The grace Jesus offers us is resurrection. Resurrection is a free gift to us from Jesus, by no works of our own. Much of the world seems to be literally confused by grace in that they think you don't have to do anything to be saved except accept Jesus. There is some truth in this because there is a kingdom of glory for all God's children. In 1 Corinthians 15 it speaks of these kingdoms of heaven as differing in glory as the sun differs from the glory of the moon and the moon from the stars. In order to gain the glory of the sun, we must have both faith and works. We can never earn our way to the highest kingdom of heaven but through our works, our repentance and our righteous desires and then through the grace & mercy of our Savior, we can become worthy to live in the highest kingdom of glory.
Is there anything in this world of more value than the grace Jesus proffers me?
We all have our own life to live and at its end, the only opinion that amounts to anything is Gods. What we choose changes us. Every choice is making us into the person we will become.
The Savior was lifted up on the cross and died for us so that He could lift us up but we don't have to wait until we die for Him to lift us. He can lift us every day because He lives and is watching over us with His love. One day we will stand before Him an make an accounting.
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| Emily's Moonstone |
A couple days ago I was reading an article about Easter. The author was discrediting Easter, explaining it's origins as a pagan holiday. I soon quit reading the article because I could tell that the author placed no value in Easter. To me it is of great worth, for it is the season to commemorate the atonement and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. If it is so that Easter began as a pagan holiday, I rejoice in it's conversion to Christianity.
I love the words to our church hymn "I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me." What is that love that Jesus offers us? It is an unconditional love from His soul to ours. I believe some of the yearnings we have in our hearts are because our spirit sorely misses the Savior and His all encompassing love that we were once so familiar with before this life.
Is there anything in this world of more value than our Saviors love?
Truly I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. The hymn continues "confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me." What is this astonishing grace that He offers us?
1) It is forgiveness of sin. Jesus' last words here in mortality were "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." I am astonished at such grace! Can you imagine after all He went through and all they had done to Him? (I would have wanted God to strike them with a lightning bolt!) Such mercy and unconditional love. Repentance is an important part of forgiveness. It is easy for God to forgive us of our sins but that would not change us. Only repentance can change our heart & Jesus forces no one to repent and change. We can choose. In 2 Corinthians 7 it says "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation."
2) The grace Jesus offers us is resurrection. Resurrection is a free gift to us from Jesus, by no works of our own. Much of the world seems to be literally confused by grace in that they think you don't have to do anything to be saved except accept Jesus. There is some truth in this because there is a kingdom of glory for all God's children. In 1 Corinthians 15 it speaks of these kingdoms of heaven as differing in glory as the sun differs from the glory of the moon and the moon from the stars. In order to gain the glory of the sun, we must have both faith and works. We can never earn our way to the highest kingdom of heaven but through our works, our repentance and our righteous desires and then through the grace & mercy of our Savior, we can become worthy to live in the highest kingdom of glory.
Is there anything in this world of more value than the grace Jesus proffers me?
We all have our own life to live and at its end, the only opinion that amounts to anything is Gods. What we choose changes us. Every choice is making us into the person we will become.
The Savior was lifted up on the cross and died for us so that He could lift us up but we don't have to wait until we die for Him to lift us. He can lift us every day because He lives and is watching over us with His love. One day we will stand before Him an make an accounting.
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| Second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ |
Thank you for sharing these excellent thoughts. That stone is gorgeous, btw.
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